The Conservative March Toward a Society of Sociopaths

Last night I spent some time with a close friend (let’s call him Jake) and as we often do when we get together, we discussed politics. You see, he’s a fantastic source for political insight because he doesn’t really follow politics or have any kind of political affiliation. Hell, I don’t know if he’s ever even voted.

But Jake is a great source because he has another close friend, let’s call him Stan, who’s a far right-wing conservative. Therefore he hears my side and Stan’s side, watches the news, reads the paper and based on only what he sees as logical and rational he molds his opinion. Which to this point he often tells me most of the stuff Stan says to him just doesn’t make any sense.

Last night when discussing Stan and some of what I refer to as his asinine political beliefs, it occurred to me—Stan is exactly how Republicans want Americans to behave.

And Stan is a sociopath.

He’s a white male, strongly opposed to most other races and immigrants. Believes every single far right-wing economic theory imaginable and actually cited Argentina as a “beacon for true capitalism.” He has no remorse for others, seems to live in a world where he’s the focal point but he presents himself as extremely charming and personable when you first meet him. He has no problem ignoring social ethics or morals if it benefits his self interest. He’s told my friend that people should only worry about themselves, and not care about the struggles of others. That in life, self interests should trump everything else.

Then, and I kid you not, he apparently followed his “only worry about your own self interest” speech by pressing my friend on why he’s not more involved in church.

See, Stan is exactly the kind of person Republicans want to create.

A society of people who only worry about themselves. People who ostracize everyone that’s not like them. Humans that value possessions over people, and while they might give money to their church, it’s only because their church is filled with people just like them. And while these people go to church and call themselves “Christians,” they’ve somehow convinced themselves that Jesus Christ was some selfish, hateful, judgmental person who valued his own self interest over the betterment of others less fortunate than himself.

And Stan is a perfect example of this. Somehow in one discussion he preached to my friend Jake on why he should only worry about himself, while also questioning why he isn’t more involved in church—a place that’s supposed to emphasize generosity and helping others.

Stan will talk about Jesus and how he himself is a Christian—then follow that by calling African Americans derogatory names, claim as humans we only need to worry about ourselves, thinks Muslims should leave the country (and would prefer they didn’t exist at all) and shows no sign of any kind of moral obligation to those in society who are less fortunate than he is.

Because see, in a society of sociopaths, greed is good. Greed is the driving force behind their existence. It’s acceptable in a society of sociopaths for people like the Koch brothers to oppose minimum wage and health care, while being worth tens of billions of dollars, because a sociopath doesn’t feel they owe anything to anyone.

If their workers are underpaid, overworked, lack benefits or safe working conditions, in the mind of a sociopath—who cares? Quit and get another job or stop complaining because they don’t owe workers anything. They only have an obligation to themselves and their own self interests. If workers want better pay, safer working conditions or benefits—find another job. If you can’t find a job which offers any of that—too bad.

That’s not for the sociopath to worry about. The sociopath is only concerned about themselves and what makes them feel good.

Which is where church comes in. These right-wing sociopaths go to church, and largely excuse their hypocrisy and lack of morality by citing church attendance as why they’re not horrible people.

After all, they go to church 2-3 times a week, that makes them a Christian, right? They’re not morally bankrupt individuals suffering from a psychological disorder—they’re “good American Christians.”

Because that’s exactly what their leaders tell them that they are. Which of course is another sign of a sociopath. The ability to charm and manipulate people into getting what they want.

Kind of like a political party that’s convinced millions of low-income and middle class Americans that their economic salvation is found by giving people worth billions tax breaks, while eliminating the minimum wage and cutting programs which the poor and middle class benefit from.

And that’s exactly what Republicans advocate—policies which benefit 2% of the richest people at the expense of the other 98%. Because they’ve somehow convinced these people that if they just “work hard enough” they can become part of that elite 2%.

Which of course, 98% of us will never be a part of.

But Republicans enforce this belief that we must only concern ourselves with what we need, and any regulations or laws which seek to help others are the enemy. It’s these programs that help others which cause 98% of Americans to flounder outside of that illustrious 2%.

It’s not the greed of the 2%, it’s the laziness of the poor.

Which leads us to the rapidly de-evolving Republican party. A party that doesn’t care about the environment, health care access for Americans, children, education, the well-being of our military or the poor.

They only care about themselves and how much they can possess. People who place value on inanimate objects like guns or money before human beings. Then nothing you can tell these people will convince them of anything, because your opinion doesn’t matter.

Because the sociopath isn’t concerned about what you, I or anyone else thinks of them—only what they think of themselves. Which is why any type of disgusting behavior they exhibit is perfectly acceptable. That behavior got them something that they wanted—and to a sociopath their own self interests are all that really matter.

And that’s exactly the type of society conservatives are trying to march us toward.

Allen Clifton is a native Texan who now lives in the Austin area. He has a degree in Political Science from Sam Houston State University. Allen is a co-founder of Forward Progressives and creator of the popular Right Off A Cliff column and Facebook page. Be sure to follow Allen on both Twitter and Facebook. Have feedback, inquiries, criticism or compliments? You can email him as well.

Comments

Excellent commentary. I am sadly seeing this proving to be true with my own brothers. Their hearts harden every day while they say these same words and behave as you have described. It breaks my heart.

Curt

This is why I don’t go to church. I don’t know about churches in other places but where I live churches are usually filled with the most nasty, unpleasant, and downright unlikable human being around.

Clematis

I’ve found that to be the truth. I’ve never been a religious person, but I never had a problem with people who practice a faith. None at all. Not until the last 10 years or so. The so-called “Christians” are some of the most hateful, selfish, mean people I’ve ever met. Seems the ones who are loudest about it are the worst. I use to think church was a good thing for some people. I no longer feel that way.

nautic

I guess those Christians are the ones bombing people in the name of Allah as well. Forcing women to wear head covers and stay at home with no rights. no education for children except for the religious studies. Who is hateful again? Or should I ask, how many things have you done in your life that you are ashamed of? and you think you have the right to judge others? You have a long way to go before you can condemn the entire christian faith without knowing the entire christian faith. Do you use your rational on all different ethnic groups you have a disagreement with?

jplibincal

Uh, did anyone say something overtly positive about the Muslim religion? If so, I missed it. I think the point is about religion, period! In this country, the prevailing religion is Christianity. So if you’d like to be the “brave” soldier that I’m guessing you think you are, try making a relevant response concerning American politics!

Mike McKallicuffy

nah, Christians are the scumbags who want to take away women’s rights and the rights of gay people. I’m not judging ALL Christians, but a good majority of them are willfully ignorant pig headed pieces of garbage.

if you think all Muslims are extremists, then you’ve basically proven any point about Christians being idiotic bigots. (which most of them CLEARLY are)

besides, religion is stupid. Abrahamic religions are the most stupid. (christianity, judaism and islam are ALL Abrahamic religions bet you didn’t know that LOL)

gemma liar

aaaa- f*cking –men to that!!

Baaly

Nahhh, they just bomb abortion clinics and have massive gun fights in Waco.

gemma liar

and then praise jeeeesus as they give tithe to tax exempt scumbags

Paul Zelinski

bomb abortion clinics? How many was that?

Glen Clark

this is how the fanatical Christian usually reacts to criticisms of those who twist Christianity in their following of it into something awful to justify their irrational hatred of everything different from them.

They open their mouth and start barking about the Muslim religion in a way that suggests: “well your criticisms of fanatical Christians are spot on but the Muslim’s are worse.”

Glenna Jones-Kachtik

There are worse things than death. There is a movement under way in America to do away with the separation of Church & State. It begins with small things that don’t seem bad but what it will lead to in the end (if we aren’t careful) – is the establishment of a theocracy instead of what we have now. You think the Muslim Taliban is bad???? The Christian Taliban would be equally bad.
This article isn’t about condemning others nor judging. It isn’t really even talking about true Christians – because there are millions in America…what it is talking about are the “Faux Christians”…..there are getting to be many of those too. They say they are Christian but their actions say otherwise.

No one said anything about being Muslim or that Muslims were any better…
So, don’t get your pants in a wad…..

enkelin

So true and there is even a name for the movment to install a theocracy in the USA and eliminate the US Constitution. They are called Christian Dominionists/Reconstructionists. They are well organized and very dangerous to the freedom of the Rest of the country as they do not believe any who doesnt believe like they do has a right to live. And I am NOT exaggerating.

GuinnessWoman

After reading a book called Kabul Beauty School. My opinion about religious countries is this. The are regressive and primitive. Afghanstein has dirt roads, unreliable water and electricity. Men are not allowed in a beauty salon where women work. Women are not allowed to live alone without a male figure in the house. If she does she is considered to be running a brothel. Married couples can not even go out alone otherwise they are looked at as prostitute and pimp. At weddings they dance seperately with a curtain between them. They pray what three times a day. They can not make decisions or modernize anything without praying on it first. These people are so repressed and confused it makes me sick. I don’t want to live that way. Many Christians are repressed and are afraid of everything. I don’t want to live in a country where there is fear, regression and oppression. Can we please move forward instead of backward.

enkelin

They are taking away women’s rights here in Texas. I call them the Texas Taliban and most of them are Fundamentalist Christians.

Estproph

Of course, because fundamentalist Christians have to be completely good, since there are Muslims who do bad things.

gemma liar

all religions are total canards,all religions

vwcat12

Gee, Nautic, you are describing evangelicals. They want to bomb other countries in the name of God, they want to beat women down and force them back in the home, subservient to men, they have been systematically destroying education, ect. ect.

Paul Zelinski

Anyone who starts sentences with they do this and they want that is stereotyping. And is the exact definition of bigotry. I am amazed at the bigotry that exists on this site who claim themselves to be soo tolerant and progressive unless of course you disagree then Katy bar the door tolerance is at an end

GuinnessWoman

What do you think the so called Christians in this nation are trying to do? How are we any better than those who are bombing in the name of Allah? The Christians here are trying to force prayer in public schools. They are taking away women’s reproductive rights. They are trying to get public schools to teach abstinence only and creationism. Many states are defunding public schools in favor of vouchers for choice schools. Which these choice schools are private and not regulated.

Paul Zelinski

How is forcing prayer OUT of public schools beneficial? How is forcing the teaching of Darwinian evolution, which is still only a theory, and nothing else on public schools beneficial? How is keeping teaching abstinence only OUT of public schools beneficial? How is forcing Planned Parenthoods nutty ideas only on public schools beneficial? By the way abstinence works every time it’s tried. How is NOT allowing poor parents the choice to escape broken down public schools in favor of reputable private or charter schools with School Vouchers beneficial to them?

GuinnessWoman

What prayer should the schools pray? Which religion are we going to follow? We don’t need prayer what we need to teach kids is how to be responsible, respectful and fun to be a round. It does not take a belief in some religion to teach that. Kids and adults alike need to learn how to open up there minds and be civil to one another. Learn to agree to disagree. This is how we get into wars we fear and don’t understand other nations, cultures, customs and religion. So let’s just attack them. Teach the truth creationism is a lovely story if it were true. Why do we have fossil evidence of dinosaurs and prehistoric man? Planned Parenthood helps in planning a family. They help women and men use birth control properly. Abstinence only is unrealistic. When I was in high school a Catholic one we were given all the information on contraceptives. After realizing they were not 100 percent effective. I chose to abstain from sex. That was my personally choice I am not willing to force my personal choice on others. Like so many religious groups do.

Paul you believe in school prayer and abstinence only. Sorry I don’t share your beliefs and I do not
want to live a country that does.

Paul Zelinski

Let the individual decide on how he or she wants to pray. It is a first amendment right after all. You notice I didn’t that the ONLY thing to be taught is Abstinence only. You go against your own personal belief of not imposing…by saying Abstinence only should NOT be taught. Oh getting back to school prayer. Congress starts each day with a prayer…why not school?

Sonja

Who is keeping a child, a teenager from praying within themselves in school????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Paul Zelinski

who is keeping that child from praying publicly in school? Where does it say in the first amendment that the FREE exercise of religion should only be exercised privately and not in the public square? So as long as you don’t see it that’s ok. So you impose your view on everyone else?

65snake

Because when it’s in the “public square” it usually isn’t VOLUNTARY. If it’s not voluntary, then it’s not free exercise.

Paul Zelinski

That makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

It indicates a poor understanding of our constitution

65snake

Your comment indicates a poor understanding of very simple concepts, such as the meaning of the word “voluntary”.
I don’t suppose you would be able to be a bit more specific in your allegation that it makes no sense, or do you intend to simply make an unsubstantiated dismissive statement and consider yourself vindicated?

Paul Zelinski

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances” the government of the US is to be neutral regarding religion…not anti-Religion. If a local community or school district wants to begin the day with a prayer they should be allowed to do so however form they want it to be. Public officials who win elective office should not have to check their religion at the door. Secularism is NOT the official religion of the US. There should be NO official religion of the country as the first amendment states. And I might add Atheism is also NOT the official religion of the land either. with that we will have to agree to disagree…because after all I am an intruder (aka troll) here. I enjoy a good political discussion but too often on these sites where comments are allowed they deteriorate rather quickly into ugly name calling which serves no one any good, except to raise the blood pressure and the heat.

65snake

“I didn’t that the ONLY thing to be taught is Abstinence only.”
Why, then, do you think it’s called Abstinence ONLY????? Abstinence only means teaching only abstinence. jeez.

Paul Swanson

Hi Paul, I hope I’ve addressed all your questions in an easy to understand way. Please take the time to think critically and reasonably about each one.
1 – relying on prayer negates personal responsibility for ones own reasoning or critical thinking skills. Prayer is inaction in place of action.
2 – A scientific theory is not a guess, it is a well-substantiated, well-supported, well-documented explanation for observations. “Nothing else” should be taught unless it can be substantiated via observation and/or scientific method.
3 – Abstinence only education spawns ignorance, high teenage pregnancy rates, high repeat pregnancy in teens and perpetuates poverty.
4 – Planned parenthood does not have nutty ideas. Contraceptives can be used to help someone live a happier and more successful (be it financial or fulfilment based success) life and thus should be taught to youth. Also, see answer 3.
5 – Does abstinence work for priests all the time? You see what I am getting at? I mean, they are sexually abusing little kids.
6 – Not allowing the choice would not be beneficial as far as I can tell. But if the only option available is private/charter/religious schools that is a problem because there seems to be little oversight regarding what takes place there. My father touched more than spirit.

Paul Zelinski

Hi Paul, I like your name. I appreciate the effort to bring reason and respect to discussion which all to often on sites like this one ends up in a fiasco of name calling. Now on to your target rich points, which seem to be informed by an anti-religion and anti-Catholic bias.

1. To say prayer is inaction in place of action is patently absurd. Mother Teresa prayed for 2 hours before going out into the streets of Calcutta to pick up the dying in the streets and care for them. For that she won the nobel peace prize. Prayer motivated her actions…which is what prayer is supposed to do. For many people of faith it does the same thing. May I suggest you read “The Seven Storey Mountain” by Thomas Merton . It is the autobiography of one man’s journey from atheism to faith.

2. Darwin’s Theory of Evolution is still a theory NOT a fact. The heart of the theory is that all life (including human beings) evolved from singled celled organisms to the intelligent beings we are today. There is still NO FOSSIL evidence that proves that. Intelligence leads one to theorize about an intelligent designer hence Intelligent design theory. Those who want only Darwin’s theory of evolution taught are just as fundamentalist as the most hardcore fundamentalist Christian. And I am not talking about Evolution OR the Creation myth as found in the 1st book of Genesis in the bible. Another reading suggestion. I think it is called “The Divine Mystique” by Teihard De Chardin a scientist and theologian. He masterfully combines evolution and faith. It is a heavy read though.
3. This is your most ridiculous assertion. 70% out of wedlock birth rate, guys with multiple baby mommas, single moms and high poverty, drug invested neighborhoods and gangs. That is because of abstinence only teaching? It hasn’t even been tried. And the reason Planned Parenthood doesn’t like it is because there is no money in it for them. And let us not forget the STDs that result. Handing out condoms and contraceptives to teens in school is sending a sex without consequence message. What in the world is wrong with teaching a respect for ones sexuality and teaching self control until one is emotionally ready for a sexual relationship (ideally in the commitment of marriage)?
4. Implied in your assertion is that children are a detriment to happiness and success. And secondly to equate a couple and their choices regarding family planning and that that should be taught to teens who are still growing and haven’t made any life choices as yet is really a stretch. And since it is based on what I consider your ridiculous premise in 3 above…enough said.
5 Your anti-Catholic bias is showing. If abstinence leads to perversion then how do you explain Anthony Weiner who is married? There are also a large number of pedophiles and those who have sex with their students who inhabit the ranks of public school teachers. But you seem to not want to mention that. The vast majority of men that are members of the clergy are good and holy men dedicated to their profession. The same is true for teachers. So you need to check yourself before making broad brush statements about the catholic church and the clergy.
6. Drug infected schools, gangs, high drop out rates, teen pregnancy, 70% out of wedlock birth rate and that is not counting the murders and gang violence. And you don’t notice? You would rather sentence poor parents and their children to those schools and not give them a chance to escape and give their children a chance at a private or charter school simply because you think those places may be infested with pedophiles? Read number 5 again and check yourself.

65snake

1 – Mother Teresa ? Really? What, exactly, did she “accomplish”? A celebration of suffering? Yes, she got awarded a peace prize, which is absolutely ridiculous.
Also, you yourself say that prayer itself does not do anything. It is nothing more than a motivational tool – which can be substituted with any number of secular means – to get off your butt and go do something.
2 – I’m so sorry that you don’t understand science. Gravity is also “only a theory”. Perhaps you should examine the definition of the word theory in science, as you seem to be using it in place of the word hypothesis. It has already been explained here for you, in another comment.

3 – Abstinence only education HAS been tried, and has consistently failed miserably. Yes, higher out of wedlock and teen birth rate is a direct result of abstinence only teaching, as are higher STD rates. The plain fact is, teenagers WILL have sex, no matter how much you don’t want them to. The only question is whether they have the information to do so more safely and responsibly. Actual sex-ed in no way minimizes self respect, and that fact that you apparently equate it in that manner indicates that you may have some serious hang ups in that department.

4 – Having a clear choice whether or when to procreate does not imply that children are detrimental to happiness. However, having too many children, or having children at the wrong time, absolutely does have an impact on success. For example, a teen mother would have a much more difficult time finishing school, much less attending college and thereby assuring a higher standard of living for the rest of her life, which in turn would make her more able to care for a family later.

5 – Acknowledging that there is a real problem with child molestation among celibate priests is not an “anti-catholic bias”, it is acknowledgement of reality. Further, abstinence is unnatural, and has definitive links to perverse behaviour, although it is by no means the only factor.

6 – Well, no one said that these things are not problems. The problem is the oversight on the alternatives. It is documented that religious voucher schools have little oversight, and there are serious problems with that. Before trying to start a whole new system to replace the one that worked so well for so long, perhaps returning adequate funding to the existing one might be a thought. Every other western nation manages to have public schools that work just fine, and students that consistently out-perform ours, so the idea that public schools just don’t work is a fallacy.

dhodge

And your idea to fix this is to lie about a fictional character?

Sonja

Evolution is only a theory?????????????????? Wow!!!! I don’t suppose you support the separation of church and state as our founding fathers did?

Paul Zelinski

Yes I fully support the 1st Amendment to the constitution which prohibits the establishment of an official state religion and which guarantees the FREE exercise of Religion to everyone or the freedom to exercise no religion. It does NOT BAN Religion from the market place or religion from the public square…or mangers from municipal buildings or the ten commandments from being displayed in public buildings INCLUDING The supreme court building. It DOES BAN the establishment of a particular Religion as the official religion of the Nation. News flash Darwin’s Theory of Evolution is indeed just that a theory, a theory which states that we humans evolved from a single celled organism to the complex intelligent beings we are today. As of yet there is still NO FOSSIL evidence to prove that theory. It doesn’t mean that it may someday be discovered but as of today it has not. To treat Darwin’s theory of evolution as fact is as fundamentalist as the most fundamentalist Christian who believes the first book of Genesis is science. It is not. The bible is not a book about how the heavens go. It is a book about how to go to heaven.

MJO

having read a number of your posts Paul, i’ll field this one, Prayer in Schools No one has forced prayer from school, they have eliminated mandated organized prayer. ( my daughters graduating class had the option of attending a special mass, she opted out), nothing wrong with that. Darwinian Evolution is a scientific theory meaning it has significant evidence supporting it WHILE creationism has NO evidence supporting it, teach it as a belief in mythology class fine , but it’s not science so it doesn’t belong in SCIENCE class.Teaching abstinence is a good call, however teaching abstinence ONLY has proven to net more unwanted pregnancies and higher rates of sexually transmitted diseases . it’s not the teaching of abstinence that is the problem.. it’s the ONLY part. Planned Parenthood’s “Nutty ideals” are called sound hygiene, family planning, and disease protection, this is a good bit of information to have by anyone entering this world. Now for the schools… you see if you give money to the privately owned charter schools, it doesn’t go into the public education system so the public schools suffer, assuming a private for profit school receives the same amount of money per student, and only takes 10% of that for profit then in a perfectly ideal world , that child would STILL only ever receive 90% of that findings educational value. this simple fact is the bane of for profit schooling ( and health care in my opinion but that’s neither here nor there). I actually have had children do a year or so in these for profit charter schools… and after seeing my eldest go through the public system in this town (southeastern Pa.) 2 of my four remaining have asked to move in with me and go to the same school… The crumbling and failing school issue is not a problem here because this town Views education as a MAJOR priority, enough so that when our governor cut the school budgets everyone from seniors to students chipped in, some by agreeing to pay freezes ( the staff) some by agreeing to higher school taxes ( the citizenry) and some by being willing to pay a bit more for some of the school activities.

Paul Zelinski

At the risk of sounding patronizing thank you for taking the time to view my posts here. I am honored that you decided to post a response. Obviously your town is doing it right regarding school prayer. The government is to be neutral towards religion not antagonistic to or a proponent of a particular religion. There is zero fossil evidence proving Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. I am NOT talking about either you believe Darwin’s Theory of Evolution or you believe the bible with its creation myths. The bible is NOT a science book. Darwin’s theory says life on earth began with single celled life forms which evolved through countless eons into higher life forms including homo sapiens all resulting from the chance process of random selection followed by natural selection, all without guidance or assistance from any intelligent entity like God. Problem there is NO fossil evidence supporting it. The fossil evidence shows that, instead of a gradual change from one species slowly giving way to another, vast numbers of new species suddenly appeared out of nowhere, remain largely unchanged for millions of years and then disappeared. Also Darwin’s Theory emphasizes RANDOM mutation. But how do you explain the intricate design of an eye for example if everything is random. There is countless evidence for design…hence Intelligent Design. I would go on to your other points but I used up my quota for words in this comment. smile. We will just have to agree to disagree on the rest.

dhodge

Wow, really?

Jen

These types of fundamentalist Christians may not be bombing people in the name of their God, but they are trying to enforce fear into the general public with their ideas and views, which is in itself an act of terrorism when one understands the true definition of terrorism. ANYONE can be a terrorist.

gemma liar

I damn all religions as throughout history the one thread they share is making money and making others suffer

GuinnessWoman

Not only that they also teach, fear, intolerance, bigotry and arrogance. I remember going to a Catholic school and being told how we were so much better than public school kids. We were taught that the public school kids were liars and thieves. Hide your pencils, pens and erasers from the public school kids coming for CCD. I refuse to raise my kids to be Catholic or any other religion. Instead I am raising them to be responsible, respectful and fun to be around.

Justifymyconfessions

How many people have died in the history of mankind DUE TO CHRISTIANITY? How many women and girls were burned at the stake, or hung, from insane Christians thinking they were witches? How many confused young gays and lesbians have been beaten, ostracized, and disowned from their families for being gay? Get bent. Christians can be just as hateful.

DrMichael

It really does depend on the church you attend. While many and more are as you describe, you will find true Christian churches if you look. There are many false churches and liars in the pulpit, but these are the churches saying we should tax the poor, worship the rich, and attack the different or lost. This is not the real church of Christ. The “Church” is not actually a building, it is the body of true Christians throughout creation. You will know a Christian by their love…

gemma liar

im sorry,,,but any / all religiosn which say THEIRS is the ONLY path to god is indeed a phony and shouldn’t be allowed

Paul Zelinski

Sooo gemma the governemtn should step in and outlaw all phony religions? First Amendment be damned?

gemma liar

no,,,,,,,,sadly the scumbag religions of this planet are here to stay– I simply laugh / cry at the idiotic creeps who demand smaller govt ( except abortion or making oral sex illegal ETC) and just keep myself busy with staying in great shape,,,making good money and fucking slim NATURALLY large breasted women,,,, the religious lemmings can all tell me im going to hell as they jealously look at what I drive,,,what I look like and whom Im emptying my nuts into—- any more flat questions?????

tsk tsk ah what direct question did you ask that weren’t loaded with venom and hate? So FOX news lives in your little pea brain huh?

gemma liar

(A) 161 IQ– measured when young so NOT to be confused,,,,(B) I asked youir opinion of so-called SMALLER govt yet wanting to tell WOMEN ( which I doubt U do well with) what to do WITH THEIR BODIES,,,,(C) hows that trickle down economics ( SEE: Reagan and his cronies) working for America…….. pea brain? yep– compared to Marilyn vos savant maybe

Paul Zelinski

They worked absolutely fantastically well until progressive liberal democrats took over places like Detroit and destroyed everything it touches. Detroit was the 4th largest city in America 60 years ago with the highest per capita income. But now after 60 straight years of one party progressive liberal democrat rule…it has become a disaster area. I’d take so called “trickle down” economics anytime over the trickle up poverty model of liberal progressive economics which seem only interested in taxing and punishing those make more than they do and handing out free stuff. Meanwhile they do nothing to lift anyone out of poverty as long as they keep voting for them. But since you claim to have an IQ of 161 then I am sure you can explain exactly what so called “trickle down” economics is and why you think the Keynesian economic model will work much better. Am I hoping too much that you will reply in a respectful dignified manner or will I get the usual trash talking. By the way I apologize for the pea brain comment, it was uncalled for.

Paul Zelinski

You certainly have an overbearing concern on defining your value as a person by how much money you make, what kind of car you drive, what kind of shape you are in and how many slim women you fuck. I hate to break it to you but nobody cares. My only advice to you is make sure you get yourself checked out for STD. Anyhow I’m about overstayed my welcome on this site…and will end my trolling around here. I have enjoyed our pissing contest.

ThorRanger

lol this is a funny comment. “The so-called “Christians” ” that you are talking of are the ones you have met/heard of. But I am so glad that you are unable to make an objective opinion, because this shows how little you know. Don’t make spiteful comments (which goes for a lot of you posting here) just because your views are different than others. 😀

Eric Lucas

You might try giving the Quakers or Unitarian Universalists a try. Both focus of peace and social justice, and both are very inclusive and not preachy at all. They are all about your personal relationship with whomever your god is.

gemma liar

amen,,PERSONAL PATH TO “god” ONLY!!!!!!!!!!

Catherine

Yes, I was going to mention the Unitarians. I have a friend that is a former Catholic who is now a Unitarian. He is one of the niciest people I know. He does not exclude anyone from being his friend.

BookmanWA

There are Christians who care about others, who place following Jesus above rules and religious laws, who give of themselves generously to those in need, and walk in humility. It’s probably because of that last trait that you don’t hear more about them. But they’re out there, they’re real, and because they put Christ first and foremost, they change things. I don’t worry much about the fake Christians; they’re His problem, and He’ll deal with them. Don’t lose heart. If you try a church, and He’s not there, try another one. If you search, He’ll make sure you find Him.

Eddie Vroom

Agreed. There *are* sane and loving christians around you, they just don’t get the same press or political attention.

Glen Clark

you should worry about those fake Christians because right now, they are occupying high perches of power within our government and are slowly but surely eroding as many personal rights as they can based on their interpretation of the bible or whatever passage they can recite that will keep them in power from the votes of the idiots who vote along religious lines.

enkelin

What you say is true, but it is the other kind of Christian who wants to take over the government.

hseiken

More and more people are finally seeing religion for what it has been all along: A system of control sold to people by promises of invisible riches and creates this market to sell by claiming everyone needs to be saved because they’re naturally going to go to hell without the belief system being sold. And that market is driven by fear of the unknown.

People need to stop being religious and start actually being spiritual. Being spiritual doesn’t place restrictions on people, it doesn’t have any set rules, it just is. And it’s something you can do alone or with a group if it suits you.

kim

Yet I can not fathom in the 2014 elections there will be enough of them against us!!! You better get out there people and drag your minority friend with you!!

bamcintyre

The issue is that the right has convinced a very large amount of the electorate that it really doesn’t matter what you do, so either don’t vote at all, or believe that you will have a better life if the rich, the “job creators” can have more money so they can help. It is incredible to me that so many people are so easily convinced to vote against their own self interests. I am a 50 year registered Republican. But I have been unable to find one to vote for in 20 years. I’m still the same Republican, but the GOP has gone somewhere else.

mihla

I grew up in an Eisenhower Republican family and didn’t vote for a Democrat until I was in my forties and could no longer reconcile my beliefs with the GOP agenda. Nearly everyone in my extended family, except my daughters, are conservative, and it continues to amaze me how they can be so blind as to continue to vote against their best interests.

MichiganDemocrat

In regards to voting I saw an earlier post I believe from you stating your daughters live in Texas, I challenge you and your daughters to stand for those affected with the new voting laws in the state. Honestly, it may be a hair-brained idea that I thought of yesterday. I’m from Michigan, so I’m not sure if in Texas it is the secretary of state like up here, but I’d like to talk to representatives from Texas about bussing people to be able to register to vote. After hearing about the new drawing of county lines and the multiple i.d.’s etc I think bussing to register or helping in anyway possible to register those who have the right to vote should. ‘Cause I’ll be damned if the election is skewed in 2014 due to people unable to vote by these new harsh laws voting laws.

mihla

I live in a blue state (Minnesota) and work very hard to keep it that way by contributing to and volunteering for progressive organizations. I made thousands of calls to help defeat the Voter ID and Marriage amendments in my state. I also follow Texas politics closely and post comments on all the Facebook posts from conservative friends and family that are based on false information. Unfortunately, even faced with the facts, most of them still cling to their delusional beliefs.

Paul Zelinski

It is a disillusional belief to think that voter id laws keep people from voting. It keeps fraud from happening. Specifically what false information are you talking about?

Paul Zelinski

You need an Id to use a credit card….an id to board an airplane. What is so hair brained about having an id to vote….except to allow the voter fraud that the democrats are experts at.

Paul Zelinski

sigh the party that has your best interests at heart is YOU not some political party. When you hand over your well being to one political party and allow them to control how you vote is pretty sad.

dhodge

Same goes for religion.

Clematis

Same here. I’ve been a registered Republican since I was 18 years old. I am now 54. I have ALWAYS voted Republican in the presidential elections. That stopped two elections ago. I’m actually embarassed to be associated with the Republican Party. They have become a monstrosity.

wilson

I left the GOP before Reagans second term. The rise of the social conservatives has destroyed the party. I will never go back.

Justmelistening

I left the R’s during papa Bush’s first term. Moral Majority my ……wisdom teeth.

gemma liar

according to FOX “news” U are now a socialist/communist/secular/martian who will burn in hades,,,,
( Along with MEEEEEEEE!!!) 🙂

kwilson

Excellently and succinctly put – you and I are in the same boat, politically, though I’ve only been registered ‘R’ for 30 years. Thanks for expressing my frustration with the GOP so well.

robingee

It’s like watching The Sopranos; those guys steal, cheat, murder and extort. Then they say homosexuality is “a sin” (the Vito episodes in Season 6 show this amazingly well) and spout off about God and getting into heaven. And those characters ARE written to be sociopaths.

BradLewis

I’m an active liberal and ‘love’ Rachel, but this article was so awful I couldn’t force myself to finish it. It was exaggeration and gross over kill Insulting!

John D. Reynolds III

As exaggerated as you may feel it is, that is actually pretty accurate on the behaviors of a sociopath and the ideology of the current Republican party. I am a moderate and with a lot of conservative views and a few liberal ones when it comes to religion, women and race. When you look at modern vehicles for the Republican party and their buzz words they create a cult following that lives under a veiled definition of what an American is, what religion is ‘right’ and how a woman should act. When things go against that they attack them with ferocious hostility.

Paul Zelinski

John, I am a republican and a conservative. What buzz words are you talking about? The hostility you mention comes from the left against anyone who disagrees with them. Want proof? Just read the article above. It is full to stereotypes and hatred for anything conservative and that doesn’t tow the so called progressive line of thinking

gemma liar

hey paul– explain to me how killing abortion doctors or thousands killed in usless wars is GODS love? or how it helps the USA???? maybe U can explain idiots such as Hannity or Bachmann or beck? ( NOTE: they ARE great americans as the capitalize financially on the oligophreniality of stupid lemmings on the RIGHT)

Paul Zelinski

Gemma you are not worth my time with your hate filled diatribe. I don’t respond to nonsense. Of course you can explain to me how killing babies in the womb is expressive of God’s love?

gemma liar

read the next post,,I didn’t add DOCTOR after abortion,,,,,hence: killing abortion DOCTORS is Christians way of expressing GODS love,,,,,,,,,,, and its UP TO THE MOTHER not you and abunch of other non sexual small dicked aging creepy guy politicians

Paul Zelinski

Isn’t it nice how you uplift the conversation with your totally bigoted point of view. You seem unable to put two intelligent sentences together without resorting to name calling. You my friend are a typical liberal. You certain have a lot of unresolved anger to deal with. hmmm up to the MOTHER huh…..how can there be a mother without a child? So a mother should be able to kill her children at whim?

gemma liar

hey kreskin,,,,,,,,,,,, so its OK to kill abortion doctors? ist OK for BUSH et al to send THOUSANDS to death for a LIE war ( SEE: IRAQ) yet U micropenile geritol swooning maggot ( not THATS some name calling!!) just typically evades the issue put b4 U? ITS UP 2 THE MOTHER OVER HER HER HER BODY,,, not politicians,,,or WORSE: psycho religious scum. NO ONE has power over life and death except AN INDIVIDUAL,,,,not your meglomaniacal interests of religions and corporations,,,,, so reply again to show how atavistic U are– smarmy ignorant STUCK IN TIME rightwing trash,,,,we are truly enjoying U clowns evaporate

dixie

NOT full of stereotypes. There are certain behaviors that DEFINE a sociopath. It just so happens that most of the GOP now fit that definition.

My husband was a lifelong Republican who just recently changed his registration to Independent. He is a conservative, a TRUE conservative, who can no longer tolerate the behavior and callousness of the party with which he affiliated for so many years. Funny, too, how once he admitted to other conservative friends that he switched, he found they had done the same thing.

In short, their horrid behavior is not going unnoticed. The GOP is losing those they took for granted, and cannot woo new members except for those who are as callous, fearful, and hate-filled as they are.

Paul Zelinski

Dixie the truth be told I am about to do the same thing myself…because the Republican party does not espouse conservative values that I hold and cherish dearly.

Paul Zelinski

Republicans have become Democrat lite.

GL

Really. Explain to me again how holding 37 votes to “repeal” something that the Democrats twisted themselves into a ginormous clusterf*** to pass is “Democrat Lite”. Explain to me how the party that favors the death penalty is so much like the one whose base would rather kill the death penalty than criminals (not that we libs can’t be cold-hearted or cruel; I myself have a variety of punishments I’d prescribe for rape and murder that would probably put me on the Geneva Convention’s shit list). Explain to me again how having an overarching goal to make the current President “a one-term President” was in any way compatible with the Democratic Party’s goals. Explain these things to me. I’ve got a few more questions, but we’ll start with these.

wilson

My husband and both of our daughters are converts as well. They can’t stand the GOP anymore.

kwilson

Buzzwords like ‘feminist’, ‘illegals’, ‘pro-abortion’, ‘safety’, ‘secular’, and ‘welfare’ (except for the corporate kind, of course – I’m sure you’re fine with that one) . The average so-called Republican these days bristles at the mere mention of any and all of the above.

Justin Tierney

you’ve obviously never dealt with a sociopath…they do not give a damn who they step on or what lines they cross. They have no conscience and will take whatever they want as long as they can get away with it.

Paul Zelinski

That defines Barack Obama to a T

Justin Tierney

it fits every single gop candidate from the last couple of elections like a glove.

Paul Zelinski

ok Justin i’ll bite….explain and I want names and details.

Chris

Blah blah, the usual conservative nonsense. Give me names! Give me research! We give you names and research, and you complain, anyway. It’s not worth arguing with conservatives, because you are a “low effort thinker”. That means you resort to the most black and white, or simplistic way of thinking because true critical thinking with variables makes you anxious. There was a study on that, too, but I am sure that you are too involved reading Idiot O’Reilly to look for it.

Cis

Exactly. They don’t want to do any of their own research, so they demand the rest of us to do it for them. Then when we decide not to trouble ourselves with it, they claim we didn’t have a point in the first place. It’s like…why would we go out of our way researching things we already know to teach someone that refuses to be taught? I know repubs live in lala land, but I’m pretty sure they have Google there as well. They should really learn how to use it.

Justin Tierney

do you want the ones that just appear ignorant or the ones that are off their rockers first?

pj

Let’s start with a first name, his name is Paul.

pj

What? You need to explain that one Paul. Does not fit Obama at all. Try to make some sense.

2ysur2ysub

Well said.

Jake Witmer

Almost all politicians are sociopaths. They’re the ones who have made all the sociopathic laws that have filled up our prisons. The Democrats are every bit as bad as the Republicans are. Even the Libertarian Party is controlled by sociopaths, or their tools. If you want freedom, you must seek it directly.

Clematis

Especially the Libertarians are sociopaths. But – I don’t agree with you that ALL policitians are such.

DrMichael

Aye, merely most. People forget who is in control of this world. While God is sovereign over all, He has allowed Satan power over the Earth for a time. Is it really surprising that power is consolidated into one tight margin of the populace, or that Christianity is besmirched by false Christians secured firmly in the ruling class that they might lead the sheep astray?! “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”

Jake Witmer

You are a moron. Libertarians want to take power -and then not use it. Sure, the LNC is hijacked by government goons, and that’s why you don’t have any examples of libertarianism to judge. But you need to get your head out of your ass if you think that government “doing nothing” is sociopathic. “Doing nothing” is not sociopathic when it comes to individuals, it’s remaining uninvolved –as it should. You sound like a real busybody. Government = force. Once you admit this, you see that those who wish to use force are the problem, not the solution. True liberals are libertarians, there is a long liberal history toward free markets, atheism (separation of church and state), and individual freedom that existed before the word was corrupted by the Wilsonian “faux-liberal” warmongers.

Jake Witmer

Stealing other people’s money by “taxation” and giving it to others doesn’t make you “charitable” or “empathic,” it makes you a sociopath. Almost all politicians are sociopaths, and it’s not just the Republicans. Look how Obama caved in on civil liberties and opposing the occupations/wars as soon as he was elected. Look how his administration is packing people into prison for nonviolent victimless crime offenses faster than George Bush did. If you buy into the lies, you’re a tool of evil men. Take responsibility for yourself, and stop trying to push people toward one head of the two-headed-monster.

All politicians are sociopaths. That’s why they don’t feel bad about promising the impossible, or punishing the innocent. And punishment is the only tool all laws have as their means of enforcement.

jeczaja

Taxes are the dues you pay for membership in Club Civilization. To escape them, you might try moving to a cave in the wilderness somewhere. Good luck.

WickedCats

Highly disturbing. People like this continue to vote.

mihla

My liberal daughters live in Fort Worth surrounded by delusional right-wing in-laws who post outrageous conservative propaganda on Facebook. I have to believe they’re good people at heart, but I’m amazed that seemingly intelligent people can rant against the poor, minorities, gays, women’s rights, environmentalism, worker protection, public education, affordable health care, and any progressive policy, and still call themselves Christians.

dixie

Then they are NOT good people. Stop believing that, and you will see them for what they are.

Sally Strange

Studies have shown that actual, clinically diagnosable sociopaths are only about 1% of the population. So odds are that most of the people spouting that stuff are good people AT HEART. Problem is, buying into a sociopathic belief system can induce otherwise normal people to act like sociopaths towards other people.

Judee

yeah that sociopathic belieft system being fox news… what a crock of b.s. if i ever heard any… brainwashing people daily if you ask me.

Debi Biderman

Fox News is the Broadcast system of the sociopath. It operates on Hitler’s principle of “The Big Lie” It sickens me that people believe this crap! The problem lies with us though. We have to start REALLY FIGHTING BACK!

Jayne Martin

Exactly Debi! I’m so tired of Dems apologizing or simply being silent. My hope is that in 2014 all Dems get really pi**ed and stand up to these goons, the President included. I want to hear all Dems in Congress being consistently vocal about furthering the issues that the GOP have been resistant and obstructionists to — and we’ve allowed it. No more. Stand up and shout!

waltinseattle

you should hear us damn indies!

Literacy Advocate

yeah? how? now the fascist fuckers own the entire mainstream media.

waltinseattle

Id practice a bit what you claim to advocate, dear reader. did santa bring the dictionary for your stocking? damn I hate disbelievers in themselves!

Reconnector

You believe in what “some” studies say. Hundred Millions or so are Sociopaths as far as any one other than the click’s or religious groups to which they belong ! Fund a mentalist are the worst claiming to be the “chosen” ones and with they shut everyone else out that is not gullible to fall in “lock step” with them. Don’t use some concentrated down to the nth degree explanation of what a Sociopath is all about !! They are everywhere will Hate you and Love Jewus in the same breath. Religion is truly what is wrong with America. We really need bring this under control.

Alexandra DeCozen

poor Sally…. another misinformed wannabe

Genie Christie Long

Psychologist Martha Stout, clinical instructor in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School for 25 years, estimates in her book The Sociopath Next Door that as many as 4% of the population are conscienceless sociopaths who have no empathy or affectionate feelings for humans or animals. That book is on my bedside table.

4% might not sound like much.

But using the U.S. as an example, that means that 12 million Americans are sociopaths.

Harry

1. She needs to cite the studies she’s referencing or her argument holds no water.

2. You can’t call her out when you’re basing your argument on nothing besides the idea that hard data tells us nothing.

Both of you have responded with emotion. That’s not a bad thing per se; it’s just not enough. When discussing the percentage of a population suffering from a mental disorder, your argument has no weight unless you have data to back it up. If I made the announcement that magnesium explodes when it comes into contact with potassium, and had no data to back that up, no one would simply accept my word – no one who isn’t terribly gullible, at any rate. Why should it be any different for psychology?
“Soft” science or not, it’s still based on facts and verifiable data.

Dennisdread_2000

Look out the window, Harry. Do you really need a scientific study to tell you whether it’s raining or not?

I didn’t think so.

Harry

Straw man argument, factually facile, and beside the point. The real comparison is: “Look out the window. Do you need facts from reliable sources to tell you if it’s raining anywhere you can’t see out your window?”

Without facts, without data, an argument holds no water; it is anecdotal evidence, which does not constitute proof. That’s how any science works.

Chyenne Mollohan

Critical thinking in here.

gbakere

I am an atheist, but I will argue, religion isn’t what’s wrong with America. Until recent years, a variety of religions and atheists coexisted in America with little conflict.
Money in politics is the problem. Using religion to divide us is nothing more than a symptom of a system which is controlled by the wealthy. “Divide and conquer.” A famous quote recently blatantly used by Wisconsin governor, Scott Walker. Hypocritical or not, religious beliefs are for the most part, ingrained and will likely never change. Money in politics however, is something both Liberals and Conservatives should be concerned about. That is something that can and should be changed. No one wants a government that is beholding only to the highest bidders, but we will all have to recognize that as the problem it is and stand united against it if we truly want a government that’s representative of the masses. Money in politics is the number one problem we face today for it allows the wealthy to govern and prevents the people from having representation. We are governed by people we never voted for.
~ Take money out of politics and all that’s left is the best interests of “we, the people.” ~

Reconnector

Well we are both atheist and look at this different but the same. We acknowledge that money is the problem it is until just recently 30-40 years have any but the Catholics openly espoused the love of money and the baggage that is connected. The Protestants diving into the deep end of the money pit and using the tax exempt advantage to openly push the “evangelical agenda” that they have hitched to the Corporate Logos of Oil and Banking. Once attached at the “hitch” to this openly hostile Corporations to American Government and the dependent upon assistance of the Government as the enemies of their version of Murica ! The Religions with a conscience were the buffer between greed and the working class. Rallying behind the workers, after WWII the open acceptance as a very good thing the Churches rallied with workers and the Unions and were happy with out tremendous growth and news found wealth as a Nation. Now somehow, workers are the enemy of Corporations the Churches in line with them and the only buffer to save millions from starvation is the Progressives less and less Religious and more and more hostile to Religion !! I stand on my statement that THE PROBLEM NOW IS the Religions ! Banning them from every single function open to the public is now our agenda, Governmental and Social. Porn and Religion are pretty much governed by the same rules and it is time we enforced the “RULES”. NO MORE praying at my ffkkking ballgame, Nascar Race, etc etc. DO that shit to yourself or at home and leave me the ffkk out of that nonsense.

Diane

All churches and any other religious institution should be taxed. No more letting them get away with this thievery. These mega churches and their swami ministers are disgusting and the “faithful” are too stupid to realize they are being taken to the cleaners. There should be absolutely no religion involved in government, none, nor any citizens united thieves either.

MiMg

Religion is WRONG to be in POLITICS, but yes, MONEY is the WORST thing going on in politics! DEMS will win EVER election once Money is OUT of politics!

waltinseattle

disagree not money but religion. twisted christan would be sharisa mixed with stay out of my religion

Pjs8200

I don’t believe for a second that no one wants a government beholden to the highest bidder. One of the Koch brothers (cant’ remember which one) said that government should be left to be run by those with the means to run it. His golden rule is: He who as the gold, rules.
Even in the movie “Face in a crowd” (1957) A wealthy business man is telling the main character that Elites should be running the country. His reasoning was that how do people who aren’t wealthy govern those who are? The fact that there are very few in elected office in the Senate and Congress who aren’t flat our millionaires is as just as much the problem as the heinous amounts of money flowing through our political system. We’re being ruled by a class of people that really have no idea of what us “common” folk have to go through to live from pay check to pay check, and many don’t even have that.
The government has spent billions of dollars in these wars over the past 10 years, but what did they do last week? Vote to cut funding for the SNAP program.
I just can’t believe this is the country I grew up in sometimes.

Debi Biderman

Well Said!

grafyter

I agree. Religion in and of itself is not the issue. It is the rich who twist religion to their cause and wield it like a scythe through the millions of uneducated in not just our country, but throughout the world. A professor once said to our Comparative Religions class, ” Religions are always co-opted by the impure humans that belong to them.”

satin8876

When you get promoted out of third grade, please rewrite your comment so we can figure out what the hell you are saying.

Reconnector

satan88666 stfu ! My Masters in Communications and Electronic from UCSF, speaks for itself. Retired E9 USN 32+ years. You may disagree with my premise but, a low level jackhole such as yourself, should never throw stones or anything else at others. Religion wasn’t always “THE” Problem. There was a Heart and kindness that has long since disappeared. This Country relied on the “gad fearing” Folk to be the moral compass. Racism, hatred of the LGBT Community, Misogyny, the mass agreement that the poor, elderly and low income families and their children are the problem and should be shunned, incarcerated and punished for being jobless, homeless and hungry as IF they CHOSE to be that way. Religion is all in for pro-life but very much supports Capital Punishment, Wars and making all of the “ONES” at blame for being below the poverty line as THE CAUSE ! Now you get the “moral majority” and that strident voice of “Hate” to return to Love and Peace as the tenants of Religion and watch what quickly begins to transpire ! Just the simple mind blowing oxymoron the Evangelicals are all in on “Moral Hate” like the song Snake Farm. Snake Farm just “sounds” Nasty, Snake Farm pretty much is ! Moral Hate just sounds crazy, Moral hate Pretty much is !
Now Satan66688 is that broken down to your fifth grade reading
level enough you get the FFFKKKING POINT ?? I was a electronic Engineering Instructor for Nuclear Submarine School San Diego, and Groton Conn nearly half of my Naval Career and having to explain such a simple concept to the moron that uses satan as their avatar says it all !! Yes I ffkking know what your moniker really is fool. Once again STFU you call me Master Chief and ask to speak maggot.

Judi Parmer Todd

Ahhhhh, Reconnector, while I agree with you, I think yoiu had better “reread” the avatar. It’s SATIN, not SATAN. As in Silk and Satin. Ooooooops!

satin8876

Thank you, Judi. Did not catch that. I was focused on sentences such as this: “Well we are both atheist and look at this different but the same.” You would think with a Masters degree in anything he could write a simple sentence that made sense. Actually I was not sure what point he was trying to make. Do you think maybe he is lying about his background?

satin8876

Well, Chief, I get a little bit more of what you are trying to say. You may want to brush up on grammar, capitalization, punctuation and sentence structure, to be more readily understood. And as Judi says below, your comprehension skills could be improved a tad. And please see if you can improve on this sentence: “Well we are both atheist and look at this different but the same.”

Reconnector

Look, I majored in Engineering Electronic Communications and Cryptologic Materials. Brushing up on spelling and punctuation is way down on my list of “to does”. I have an Assistant that handles all my official communications and really give a shit less about your, snide comments on Comprehension. I comprehend what this country is sadly in need of and “punctuation” isn’t “it”. I made that goofy first sentence on purpose just to yank your chain. Deal with it, stop whining,
2Purple Hearts, Bronze Star, Command Master Chief of the Fleet for Comthirdflt, I really have a grasp of “things” you will never understand and why should you. You are busy grading papers on the internet, I assume because you have done so well with your time that you have little else. Now take your red pencil, … you know where to put it and how.

raggedcompany

I happen to disagree. This country desperately needs punctuation, as well as grammar. While I don’t necessarily condone disrespectful responses, it’s difficult to counter an argument when said argument cannot be understood.

grafyter

Agreed! An understanding of punctuation is at the heart of the 2nd Amendment terrorists’ misunderstanding of gun rights.

Dennisdread_2000

I’m sorry. Your responses are almost unintelligible. Why make people work to decipher your statements? Many, like me, are going to give up and stop reading, hence your message ends up lost and wasted.

Stop arguing for lower standards. Grammar and punctuation exist for a reason, surely a scholar such as yourself knows this?

If not, let a word to the wise be sufficient.

Reconnector

Ahhh yes, I have a “sit on my ass grading papers scholar” critiquing my less than perfect use of the language, while still taking action in my field “of expertise”. 2 purple Hearts, a Bronze Star and all of the rest that goes with being One that Walks and Talks being A Patriot and an American. Even having a discussion with such a mighty Man of the Pencil, pear shaped figure and all. My God Man, what was I thinking ? You really need to tuck your tail, understand that those of us that Do, have always been the Super Minority compared to those that stand in judgment “after the fact”. Expertly predicting the outcome. Can never be as perfect pointing out the outcome. Life awaits ME where you goin genius ??

enkelin

A blog post is not the same as a college thesis.

Perry

No, but you still need to be able to communicate a thought even on a blog. Otherwise, you’re wasting everyone’s time. Reconnector is just an ignorant troll living in the past, if he actually was what he claims to be. He is trying much to hard to use bluster instead of making sense so he doesn’t pass the smell test of an an actual veteran. Viet Nam vets (and I’m sure IAVs) can spot a phoney a mile away.

Jayne Martin

You are correct enkelin, but his first post was a hard read. I struggled through it and still wasn’t sure what he was trying to say so yes, sentence structure is important if you want to communicate effectively.

Jerry Hill

Better to have LOVE replace it!!!

Plasmabunny

Actually, it’s true that genuine sociopaths are only about 1% of the population, however almost all humans can turn off their empathy if they have sufficient social pressure to do so. Thus true sociopaths race to the top of social structures and coopt them to spread and defend their interests. A church, political party, or even a group of people are just tools to be manipulated into serving their worldview, and let them rise over and control more people.

And morale dissonance does occur in those non-sociopaths, however they are genuinely unable to realize the source, thus they aim it at the culturally acceptable targets, and just reinforce the cycle.

Peter Simatos

People feel better when they have someone to blame for their problems. The conservative right gives them many targets to choose from.

J. REX CROUCH

Gee ! Real STUDIES? There’s no arguing with THAT!

Mazhbeen Siganporia

America’s current population, (i took this from the first search result I saw) 313..9 million. Let’s do a bit of math shall we.
thats 313,900,000/100 x1.
So your argument here ( were I to go by the study you have read) is that there are ONLY 3.13 MILLION SOCIOPATHS?

TropicDave173

OK, but what if the sociopaths somehow gained influence out of all proportion to their numbers…say like, conservative politicians or Fox News commentators? Then you have the effect of drawing in those who are not sociopaths but are affected by the rhetoric…just a thought.

Tazed and Confuzed

Actually, studies show sociopaths to be around 5% of the population, and even that is a low estimate in my opinion.
A society that is based on greed, acquisition and consumption can’t help but breed sociopaths. It’s become our national ethos.

GEhotpants101 .

“A society that is based on greed, acquisition and consumption can’t help but breed sociopaths.” That’s a rude thing to say about the Ferengi.
Oh, you mean us.

Grey Wolf

Star Trek Geek alert!!! Oh, wait…I got the reference so…dang.

satin8876

A number of times I’ve called ultra right-wing nut jobs as Klingons.

Dennisdread_2000

Not really though because Klingons believe in honor. These folk here have no use for it. Except to demand it of the other guy of course.

mikeatle

Correct. The original Ferengi reference is more appropriate.

Lorrie Crabtree

Nonono. They’re nothing like Klingons. They’re definitely more like Ferengi.

satin8876

No. Ferengi can be nice, beneath all that devious. Maybe closer to Romulan: mean for the fun of it.

Pat Durkin

“my house is my house”… “as are its contents”

ellid

“Monkeys? I do not understand.”

“I do!”

Jerry

Although it’s a little hard to understand Ferengi society thoroughly because they are, you know, fictitious, I always got the impression that their greed was kept from becoming too destructive by the Rules of Acquisition. We used to have some of those. It would be good to get them back.

lisa

Oh don’t offend the Ferengi by comparing them to SOME far-right-wing nuts. The Ferengi are a better sort of being…

Paul

I think the sociopath proportion of the population is 10%, in Congress it is about 35%.

David A Deal

About 1/3 of the population possess the MOAO (WARRIOR) gene which apparently manifests itself with sociopath tendencies. coincidentally about 1/3 of the population arte die hard Republicans.

Roscoe Mathieu

Studies show that studies show show-studies are only shows, not studies. 😛

bigdogg

Sally:
When I was teaching at the Defense Department, we said that it was about three percent “not okay”, but that was thirty years ago. Like you, I would not be surprised if it is near ten percent today.

coconutisland

It is called ‘cognitive dissonance’ The ability to have two dissonant beliefs at the same time. For instance, I believe I am a good person. I believe that helping poor people is bad. In order to resolve the obviously ‘dissonant’ nature of these statements, you get rationalization, or I believe it is the fault of poor people that they are poor.

CM

“In psychology, cognitive dissonance is the discomfort experienced when simultaneously holding two or more conflicting cognitions: ideas, beliefs, values or emotional reactions. In a state of dissonance, people may sometimes feel “disequilibrium”: frustration, hunger, dread, guilt, anger, embarrassment, anxiety, etc.” it is a state of mental conflict. these people have no cognition that there IS a conflict. their conflicting viewpoints may cause us to experience the discomfort, but they are completely oblivious that there is any conflict in what they believe. they are narcissists at best and many are at least borderline sociopaths.

Harry

Thank you. I was about to post something similar and you beat me to it, so now I don’t have to do so. Thank you! 🙂

And no, I’m not being sarcastic; I am sincere.

Robyn Kern

me too….

Dennisdread_2000

Sincerity. Another things our conservative ‘friends’ lack.

wgaf

and Integrity

kurt

at first i thought the neo-conservatives might be sincerely sociopathic! ;^) but then i thought that sincerity requires a bit of self-awareness, so really they are obliviously sociopathic!

Dr_MJ

nice explanation Leon Festinger, would have been proud.

John Schuster

You hit the nail on the head CM.

vinniethesnake

“A state of disonance cannot be tolerated by the organism.”

Jeanette Le

I think that is why the “radical right” are so angry and fearful…just saying

markpkessinger

Indeed, to experience any discomfort over trying to hold conflicting ideas simultaneously requires at least a shred of conscience — something clearly lacking in these folks.

waltinseattle

money is gods way of rewarding his followers for rghteousness. spoverty is the waged of sin. except for rich satanics where money is proof of satans power. it isnt dissonance. it is situational.

Literacy Advocate

and your being a moron is ‘situaltional’, too.

waltinseattle

your read is very superficial. perhaps i should raise the (sarcasm) flag higher for you? its not a dissonance, its a case of the situation being who are they lying to / decieving at any instance. is that 2nd grade enough?

markpkessinger

Dude, I think he was paraphrasing the belief of right-wingers, not expressing that belief as his own.

Peter Simatos

Wow are you warped

waltinseattle

no, you are slow to read the comments about ((SARCASM)) so you understand the literary voice “point of view” in what i said. think of mark twain doing a rip on some politician of his day. the owrds would be someone elses words. the meaning would be of twain, not the politician.. P.S. yes I am wawa wawarped, but not for the reasons you supposed.

Peter Simatos

I apologize. Sometimes hard to ascertain what is sarcasm and not.

Marty Cox

hmm..interesting!

qiuing

That’s because the left frequently misrepresents sociopathy as a way to avoid serious argument. There is a difference between not being able to perceive feelings, and not making decisions based on those feelings first, much less prioritizing feelings to the extent that it harms yourself.

If someone was a real sociopath, you probably wouldn’t know it.

Alexandra DeCozen

they are the most devious people on the planet

Holli

Oh yes, I forgot – no one on the left has ever been devious. Be fair – both sides will say what they need to so they get what they want. Until we start researching our candidates and vote by PERSON and not Party, we won’t get anywhere.

MiMg

NO, you are WRONG! Dems are for HELPING The Poor, The Middle Class, Gays, Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, Repubs are ONLY for TAX CUTS for THE RICH!

Sirk

Wrong! It seems there are very, very few political leaders on either side who are interested in anything other than feathering their own nests. I personally believe it is almost a requirement to be a shallow scumbag to enter into politics at the national level.

Hervoyel

No, they’re not. I know it’s fun to believe that but it’s simply not true. If they were the most devious people on the planet they wouldn’t be in such a sorry state and staring at steady decline in their numbers. They’re misguided and mistaken. They’re often simply misled but from time to time they’re also right about s few things. Hyperbole accomplishes nothing and demonizing “the other side” doesn’t help either. Not directing that last bit at you, just stating that in general acting like the opposing side is the devil isn’t making things better and we do too much of that these days.

MiMg

The REPUBS ARE awful, terrible ROTTEN people because they HATE minorities and HATE the poor!

Sociopathy has nothing to do with feelings. Sociopaths still perceive emotions. What they don’t do is care about social norms. They can play the part if they have to, but when they can get away with focusing on themselves to a pathological degree, that’s what they do instead.

It’s not difficult to learn more about antisocial personality disorder. You’re on the Internet.

If anything it’s being defined a bit differently here because if a sociopath goes against cultural norms then I’d expect them to act kinder and gentler than the general population. Speaking of the Internet, I’ve been on it since 1996 and all I see is scary people. The stupid things people believe, the hateful way they think, and I have to interact with these people away from the keyboard. I don’t know how we have avoided committing mass suicide by now.

But I think what is meant by the term here is a person who doesn’t understand why it’s important to care about the needs of others. And honestly, that is an important thing to care about, because if no one cares about anyone else’s needs, that means you get no help when you have problems either.

gbakere

Agreed:

Martin Niemöller during WWII,
.
First they came for the
Socialists, and I did not speak out–
.
Because I was not a Socialist.
.
Then they came for the Trade
Unionists, and I did not speak out–
.
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I did not speak out–
.
Because I was not a Jew.
.
Then they came for
me–and there was no one left to speak for me.

Sirk

Sociopaths are incapable of feeling emotion. Their brains are hardwired that way. You are correct that they perceive emotions – others’ emotions – and are quite adept at manipulating those others. Not all sociopaths are evil, but the malevolent ones can create a lot of pain and suffering, while feeling no remorse for the result of their actions.

Alexandra DeCozen

Sally you are hugely mistaken …the numbers are much higher. over 15% according to psych studies and university surveys…

Harry

Please cite your sources. Both of you.

Jake Witmer

Yes, this is true. The psychologists Milgram, Zimbardo, Asch, and Lobaczewski proved this in the 1950s-present. The studies have been replicated many times. Mindless conformity is the real enemy.

Dana

Saying mindless conformity is the enemy is a form of mindless conformity. There are reasons that people want to fit into a social group. Starting with: We are social animals.

We do not have the time, the energy, the resources or the inclination to question every single thing we do and believe, and we shouldn’t have to.

These are interesting times we live in when the culture is changing roughly every fifteen to twenty years–NOW we have to think more about it. But this is not the evolutionary norm. And everybody can’t be a thinker-outside-the-box because we’re just not wired that way. It is not conducive to the cohesiveness of the social group.

Now if you want to argue that your social group sucks and you don’t want it to be cohesive, fine–go find another one. There are plenty out there yet.

Holli

I’d love to have a cup of coffee with you! 🙂

Sirk

I want to argue that our government sucks, and our court system sucks, for letting “news” media get away with the babbling crap the pass as “news.” You must know that the media do not have a legal obligation to tell the truth, right? And what about those sociopathic manipulators like Glenn Beck and Rush Limbo? People hear that stuff and believe it. However, the only reason those bast**rds are on the air is to divide and conquer for the 1%, as was stated above. They have people fearing anyone who is “different” or who might take their job, or be the recipient of taxes via a social safety net. There should be a truth requirement for anyone using the public airwaves or a printing press.

Kelly S

does that actually make them less of a sociopath? i suppose maybe it’s more stockholm syndrome.

Dana

I’d love to know what studies those are because I’ve heard the numbers more like one in four. Twenty-five percent. Most of them are functional, so they don’t wind up in psychiatric care.

And if anyone honestly believes the stuff she was talking about (her daughter’s in-laws subscribing to every imaginable form of -ism), no, they are not a good person, by definition. One thing about sociopaths is they benefit from knowing the rules. As long as they follow the rules and don’t rock the boat overmuch they get along fine. That’s all these people are doing. They do things that look decent to total strangers, like pay their bills and refrain from beating their kids, because they know it’s expected of them and they’ll get in trouble if they don’t. Not the same thing as being a good person at all.

Judi Parmer Todd

Dana, I agree with your percentile more than the others. I think there are far more sociopaths out there than any of us would want to know.

Ratbert009ca

and that is why these right wingers want to push society towards sociopathy. so that they can act out on more and more ammoral greedy behavior

fifthdentist

Only a small percentage of Germans were genocidal maniacs back during the 1930s and 1940s. But those who were really took the ball and ran with it.

Debi Biderman

They had a very willing and receptive populace back then. It was PC to hate Jews and Gypsies and people were not the “right” color or were different. If we are not careful the same thing could happen here. We MUST not sit back and watch the hate spread we must speak up.! Arguing amongst ourselves is just what the Neo Haters love. The Bullies of today are waiting for the chance to call us lefties and commies…they throw the word Liberal at us like it is an insult! Damn straight I am a liberal Dem…and Proud of it. Don’t let some Bully calling you a commie rule you. That is how they get their power. Just look at the fifties…..Calling someone a commie was a great way to screw liberals over. WE MUST NOT TAKE THIS CRAP!! If being a liberal commie means I believe in helping those less fortunate and affordable health care and educating ALL our children , in protecting the average working class man and woman and helping all Americans have a chance at a decent life than I guess I am all that AND a bag of chips!

louis

sorry to say i have a very recent psychology degree, your 1% is a number pulled out of thin air. the number is much higher.

Sirk

In The Sociopath Next Door, the author states that 1 in 24 people is a sociopath, or roughly 4% of the population. The book was written a while ago, but I’ll bet the percentage will have been revised upward, rather than downward.

Lorrie Crabtree

Nope. Sorry. They’re NOT good people. Good people don’t follow a culture of hate and inequality.

Geoffrey Harris

Actually the percentage is much higher than that, at least 4% of the North American population, even according to the book The Sociopath Next Door by Martha Stout. In some local populations it is much higher, 12% being not uncommon in some settlements, and 50% being typical in prisons.

Marty Cox

I hope that is correct because it’s very scary pout there!

Rick Catdaddy Blankenship

There is a type of personality that is drawn to the sociopath. It’s the same type of personality that needs religion to help cope with fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of change, fear of difference.

jackiemearound

I hide from my family because of exactly this. It gives me terrible guilt, but I know I’ll not be able to contain my feelings as they preach their hate if I talk to them, so I don’t.

v2787

I’m with you. I love my sociopathic family members, but I do it from a distance in order to preserve my own sanity.

TropicDave173

I just don’t talk to them. There’s little we agree on anyway. On the rare times there IS communication it’s kept to family matters.

Michael David Barber Moghul

No need to do that. Just tell them in logical, rational terms that they are not role models for behavior that a logical, sane society would approve and they will automatically leave you alone.

CM

sometimes all you can do is save yourself.

Robyn Kern

agreed, that is why people have defense mechanisms like avoiding conflict with family members!!!!!

Vicki Trusselli

i am with you. i only speak with certain family members due to their bible thumping emails, etc and hate of other people like gays, and others. i can not bear to be in the path of their negativity of hate and not caring.

Robyn Kern

Jackie, that is called a defense mechanism.

jackiemearound

It’s a reality and yes I’m defending myself. I either hide and say nothing or blow up in their faces when they bash people of color, poor people, single mothers, liberals, Muslims, gays, and anyone else they perceive as “wrong” in the name of Jesus because they think everyone HAS TO agree with them and their shitty nasty creepy religion and their sickening conservative politics. They’ve made me a staunch atheist, because I want no part of their “God”.

Holli

So, let me get this straight – if you saw me and I was polite and working at the soup kitchen, as I do several days a week, you would ASSume I wasn’t a nice person bc I’m an Independent Conservative. Well, I need no argument then, the way many I know view you is given to them by your closed mind. Although, I doubt my helping people bc it’s the right thing to do will satisfy you if your belief is that I’m bad based on a “political” view. I’ll think of said comment the next time I vote for a Democrat. In which case I may just change said vote to tick you off. 🙂

Dr_MJ

Dixie never said anything about assuming anything, Dixie was talking about people who “rant and hate others” Those people who hate anyone who is different from them and have to make sure everyone knows about it. I Can not saw for sure, but I bet if she saw you working at a soup kitchen, she would assume you do value helping others, even if she found out that you have some conservative views.

Liberal in CA

dixie- i agree with this 1000000000000% wanting to believe they are good people at heart is called delusion!

Diana Newton

I live in Fort Worth also, and I’m telling you, the people here suck! And I’m from here. But I can’t believe the racist, sexist, hateful bullshit I am a witness to on a daily basis.

chi_chi

That’s all over the nation, in fact the world.

Holli

True and it comes from every affiliation, not just one. But, I’m loving the logic of how it’s only the GOP spreading hate and discontent. As an Independent I read everything and the far reaches of each side of say the same things. Both can’t be right or wrong but neither can explain it to me.

Diana Newton

Holli, how exactly are far-left liberals spreading hatred of the poor, minorities, homosexuals and women? Because the far right seems far more determined to pass bills to limit the freedoms of all of these groups and cut aid to anyone that needs it, all the while running on “family values” and “Christianity,” then they are in doing ANYTHING to fix the economy. I have not seen any far-left liberals wanting to cut aid or force women to have transvaginal sonograms (extremely invasive) or tell committed gay couples that they cannot marry the person they love. I sure haven’t seen any of them voting to cut food stamps to poor kids. I can’t understand how you can possibly say that both sides are saying the same things, the messages are TOTALLY different! The only people I see spreading hatred here are the far right teabagger types, and there sure are a lot of them.
And I guess I really should make this distinction, I was born and raised in Texas, the biggest part of the people I interact with everyday were not. We had a big influx of conservatives into Texas back in the 80’s, and things have gone downhill ever since. It didn’t used to be such a bad place to live, native Texans can’t help that their state got hijacked.

artisanr

I’m an Independent. republicans and their corporate masters are, indeed, the problem.

FrugalFreak

I’m in Alabama, it is beyond horrible here.

Paul Zelinski

I am amazed at how otherwise intelligent people can accept all progressive policies ( ie liberal) as the only path to the salvation of the nation without once looking at how damaging they can be. Eg Detroit run by Progressive liberal mayors for 60 years

gemma liar

hows that trickle down economics working, EH paul??? funny how U FOX “news” watching cretins read from same handbook ,,,in step with FOX at all times,,,,, never wanting to see how repubs/rightwing/Christians are shrinking ( for a reason),,,,,Im enjoying watching U clowns atrophy– also how U evade/avoid answering a direct question ( ala Hannity)

Paul Zelinski

I will answer that after you explain how well liberal progressive economic policy has worked in Detroit. And please make an effort to try to do it without name calling and ridiculous generalizations.

gemma liar

U just told me all I need 2 know about U— bible book on how2 get to heaven……. susperstition not my bag O pauli boy— U are a lemming

Paul Zelinski

And you are a rude, hateful, insulting, bigoted, disrespectful ignoramus. I’d call you an asshole but that would be an insult to assholes everywhere. But you are an embarrassment to the many fine, decent, well intentioned progressives who post on this site with whom I have a philosophical disagreement on the many issue of the day. Out of charity I responded to your posts. I gave you many opportunities to respond respectfully to my comments. But you chose instead to continue your rude and boorish behavior.

gemma liar

it is (??) rude and boorish ( don’t forget DROLL) as it does NOT align with thy atavistic “testarudo” thinking ( I use the word ‘thinking’ euphemistically here),,,,NOTE: U still have NOt responded to the direct question of ” hows that trickle down economics working”? and quoting the playbook of FOX “news” by stating ‘Keynesian” even as U truly do not know the philosophy behind that arcane and outdated economic philosophy does NOT qualify as an answer—you sir are typical of your ILK: non moving: pissed off at life and the simple yet deep pain it has given U over the decades U have had to endure. The beautiful sexy women U have NOT had on a consistant basis: hatred for us who figured out how easy it is to GET such feminine attention,,,,accumulating whatEVER tangible assets U have yet seeing that the acquisition of said baubles has made your life more comfortable yet exacerbated the innate pain U suffer through. I am highly appreciative of your dubious charity replying to my abuse of you– artistically showing all of us that You sir–indeed; have no life and need to glorify the atrophying of those who share your banal dialogue and ( behind closed doors and minds) hatred of true PROGRESS ….Try to remember: the universe is unfolding AS IT SHOULD which means in spite of oligophrenial pseudo-intellectuals such as U mankind is improving as a species. Including ALL people to that equation is PROGRESS– unlike the white RIGHT religious crybabies which pollute your existence. I cannot wait to hear ( read actually) your insipid response to my bellicose and loving abuuuuse of YOU! (NOTE: Im a 55 yr old WHITE south Floridian who has been self employed since 1989)

Paul Zelinski

HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE….The only thing left for you is psychotherapy after reading your babbling nonsense.

gemma liar

brilliant! the audience is applauding !!!! ( NOTE: ya STILL still STILL have NOT answered my direct and simple inquiry…………. psychotherapy anyone??)

Paul Zelinski

I already did…with a simple and direct answer…it works wonderfully… now go away and find your psychotherapist. Note: You are still a boorish pseudo intellectual. Now go get a life little man.

gemma liar

6’2 1/2…210 still playing Bball and surfing and lifting weights ( all while CLEARING on average 87K per year) Now we all will learn here & now that paul makes that in a nano second,,,,but he still spanks his micropenile monkey to internet porn— gotta spend that bread SOMEWHERE

Paul Zelinski

Height does not define how little you are. So get a life little man.

gemma liar

“get a life” which is a jejune quote made by those who KNOW they “have no life”…..congrads upon being dictator of such a supreme club. FUNNY: I work and play: sex my very sexy girlfriend often: ,,,,,if that’s no life I am happy being such a LOSER instead of some dried out ( see: AGED) creep such as thee who can ONLY reply with overused metaphors. Perhaps U can edify my loser ass as to EXACTLY WHAT ” having a life ” would entail,,,,,,,and please be detailed; unlike thy avoidance of said economic inquiry posted earlier,,,,,,,,this should be worth the popcorn we all eat as we eagerly await your divine answer!!! PRAISE DEAD JEWS!!

Paul Zelinski

as one of my college professors would say before handing out the essay exams ” Don’t wax eloquent”. Translation: don’t bullshit a bull shitter. I compliment you on your waxing eloquent technique.

gemma liar

again,,,,,,,,,,, the nugatory avoidance of ANSWERING A DIRECT AND simple QUESTION: ergo my refrain: pleeeeez tell me EXACTLY what I need to do ( be detailed please as Im not as smart as U are) to “get a life” which extrapolates into EXACTLY what ” a LIFE” may be in your view…….. details? DETAILS! ( example: Reagan tripled our national debt: as NOT seen on your misinforming network FOX “news”,,,,that ; my dear paul- is a DETAIL) so pleez give me DETAILED details as to EXACTLY what contrues “a life” whilst your banal commentary sits to be seen- that said commentary implying I have ” no life”,,,,DETAILS sir paul,,,,DEEEE-TAILS! ( this oughta be a wonderful paul-esque reply)

William Carr

Keynesian Economics may seem Arcane to you, but it’s not outdated.

It’s also known as “Demand Side Economics”. Look it up.

gemma liar

arcane as in HIDDEN may be inappropriately used– but it is a bit outdated as its influence has diminished since the baby boom expansion which stalled in the early 70’s– I do feel it is superior to the crap the republicans have shoveled to blind fools who do NOT do homework upon subject. I will agree that greater demand does stimulate productivity but it has drawbacks. lowering prices has positives and negatives: I do not lower my prices when its slow ( self employed chef) rather I can either increase advertising or give slightly larger portions.

EasyEight

Not arcane, pretty simple idea — but proven time and again to lead to failure, not success. The Obama Admin and Democrats have been trying to heavy-up on Keynsian spending for 5 years, and it’s just gotten us more debt, higher unemployment and no appreciable result for the economy.

Bush economics crashed the auto industry, much like what an unknown virus infecting every computer would do to Silicon Valley. And you wonder about Detroit?

Paul Zelinski

Wow Bush economics crashed the auto industry?? care to give specifics? That’s the problem with you liberal progressives…make broad generalization without any evidence whatsoever. I don’t wonder about Detroit. Detroit is bankrupt. Detroit has been run by a one party liberal progressive rule for 60 straight years. It’s not rocket science to understand the implication. That is what is in store for the Country if we follow the path of liberal progressive ideology and it’s entitlement mentality.

gemma liar

paul is correct,,,,,,,,,,,,corruption,,,in this case demo corruption,,,,ruined that once proud city— funny thing is: king righty paul overlooks how HIS brand of Reagan/bush economics have destroyed the BIGGER one: THE USA,,,,,teetering on extinction ( see: 2008) while wealthy get wealthier,,,,good ol’ paul: BIG MAN ( hey pauli: U said Im small: 6’2 1/2,,,210 with a 16% body fat at age 54) DAMN THOSE STATS!!! poor paul,,,,, hating those anatomically better off than he—

Paul Zelinski

damn those stats Under this president a staggering 121% of income gains has gone to the top 1%, almost twice that (65%) of his predecessor. The poorest 20% in America saw their avg. income drop each year of his presidency. This incompetent leader is always campaigning, loves to blame others and acts like someone else has been president for the past 4 plus years. Damn those stats indeed. And Ronald Reagan simple the greatest president of the last half of the 20th Century. By far greater than that goof ball Carter or the current community organizer in the white house.

gemma liar

Reagans greatness started outsourcing our debt to asia,,,,, and we all see how well that’s doing for America—- U lemmings ( SEE: FOX “news”) are afraid or the greatest historical president: FDR

William Carr

And I suppose it’s astonishing to you, that with the Bush Tax Cuts in play for the first three years of Obama’s Presidency, that the incomes of the very Rich would rebound faster than those of the poor?

Again, you start with a conclusion and desperately dig for justifications for it, then declare victory.

Conservatives CAUSE Stock Market crashes ! And they act as if the Democrats that come in to fix the problem caused it.

ErnestineBass

You’re right. Reagan (was) simple.

Paul Zelinski

and correct

ErnestineBass

LOL Nope. Just simple.

Paul Zelinski

no simple and correct. it is called free market capitalism. That also make JFK simple

Sirk

Remember Iran Contra? Did it bother you when traitor Oliver North was celebrated at ground zero after 911? Reagan was an actor. Those who were pulling his strings knew exactly what they were doing. We are currently paying the price.

YouKnowMe

About WHAT? He looked out the window one day and said, “It’s morning in America”?

Paul Zelinski

Individual liberty. Free market capitalism. Read his speeches or what he has written. That government is NOT the solution to our problems etc etc.

Sirk

He was a puppet! He served at the pleasure of the elite. Of course they say those things! Free market capitalism gilds their coffers. It, along with the FOR PROFIT Federal Reserve banking system, ensures that there will always be financial crises to use to fleece working people of what little money they have. It truly is sad that people like you, who repeat – and actually believe – this capitalistic hokum, have helped destroy the very country you profess to love.

fifthdentist

“Facts are stupid things,” — Ronald Wilson Reagan

Paul Zelinski

Yes and they get in the way of liberal progressive’s worldview.

Sirk

Donald Rumsfeld, “…You look at intelligence, and of course, if intelligence were a fact, it wouldn’t be intelligence….” (speaking about the US attack on Iraq in an interview with Kai Rysdall, 5/16/13) Rummy was one of the many moronic sociopaths serving Nixon, Reagan, then recycled through W Bush.

Ah of course when you can’t use ideas to support your position resort to trash talking…that’s the spirit.

Paul Zelinski

Anyhow I am done trolling…its like casting pearls before swine.

Sirk

You mean the Ronnie Raygun who put together the Greenspan Commission which came up with the idea that baby boomers would need more social security. So in the late 80’s, they started making working people pre-fund their own retirement as well as retirement for those who already left the workforce. Only the joke was on us: the surplus collected over the years – $trillions – was not left alone, but rather used by HW Bush, Clinton, W Bush to fund wars, etc, thinking the economy would somehow miraculously keep growing and the money could easily be paid back. Sadly for US workers, the too big to fail banks failed, the bankers lost nothing for causing the global economic meltdown, and we’re all told social security is going broke. That is bullsh–! They “borrowed” the money and screwed up so badly, it can’t be paid back. Meanwhile, Ronnie started deregulating, Clinton took it to the extreme, Obama is ineffective at everything, and we’re hosed. Also, Ronnie R drove the first big spike into the demise of US unions with the firing of all the striking air traffic controllers. Margaret Thatcher was up to the same no good in England at the time.

Paul Zelinski

And oh by the way liar…since you seem hung up on anatomy.. I’m 63 years old, 6′ tall, 195 in excellent health. I am an excellent ball room dancer and you can find me each week at a dance dancing the night away with many lovely dance partners. Waltz Rumba Cha Cha Swing and even a little tango. So you don’t have to worry your little head about how I relate to women.

gemma liar

ballroom dancing…….
,,,,,ballroom dancing,,,,,,,,,,
how thelypthoric!!
I will stick to basketball,,,,surfing,,,scuba,,,,, weight lifting ( free weight; not machines),,,,, and of course anti-biblical SEX with macromastial women.
” ballroom dancing”
far too sophisticated for an animal such as MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Sirk

Why are you people telling us your age, height, weight? I remember some 10 year old girls one time were online chatting with someone they thought was a teenage boy. They collectively decided they were and 18 old senior girl, long dark hair, thin… you get the idea. They were scrawny ten-year-olds. So why would anyone believe anyone else’s story of their physique. This is childish and absolutely ridiculous. I could say I am Marine Corps fit. How do you know I am – or not?

William Carr

No, it’s not Rocket Science.

It’s Statistics. Which is something ELSE that Conservatives don’t understand.

You can’t prove a hypothesis with ONE data point, Paul.

Your ridiculous insistence that because Detroit is a Democratic City, that Democratic policies caused it’s failure, is something only a person with no knowledge of mathematics would believe.

We could do a Study; compare all the Blue States to the Red States.

Compare Blue Cities to Red Cities.

Then, with enough data points, show which Party is most likely to take more Federal benefits than they pay in, which Party is more likely to be fiscally responsible…

That’s how it’s done in the real world, Paul.

And in fact, Red States are poor, despite being more agricultural and theoretically resistant to economic shocks; and they take in more Federal Money than their people pay in taxes.

New York is a Blue City, and doing pretty well.

Actually, you’d be hard-pressed to FIND a Red City, now that I think on it.

Even in Texas, the Cities are Blue.

Your irrational beliefs are laughable.

Paul Zelinski

I hope you laughed hearty. Its fun watching you spin trying to explain the failure of Detroit without reference at all to the FACT that the city has been run for 60 straight years by liberal progressives with nary a republican in sight as if that fact has absolutely NOTHING at all to do with it. And what is a good spin without a few subtle digs at the math skills of yours truly or conservatives in general. In truth if it were reversed and Detroit had been run for 60 years by conservative republicans and was in the same situation, you would be all over it. You know it and I know it. So just keep spinning away.

Dana

The poorest states in the U.S. are all majority Republican “red states,” Paul.

You’ve got one city to shove in our faces.

Now YOU explain the South.

Paul Zelinski

People are moving south to escape the high tax states and cities of the north.

YouKnowMe

Paul keeps harping on Detroit because he actually thinks he has a case, even though he can’t prove it and can’t even define what “liberal progressive” policies were to blame. And he actually thinks that the case of one city is proof for a whole nation’s economy.

EasyEight

Why? He could as easily harp on bankrupt Oakland, or bankrupt Chicago, both run exclusively by “progressive” politicians for generations, and both inundated with violent crime despite strong anti-gun laws. It can’t always be someone else’s fault for all these broken cities, at some point you should examine the policies and actions by those actually in charge…

Sirk

I guess we’ll have to keep our eyes on Indiana and Wisconsin, then. I heard Indiana’s unemployment has risen significantly since then-governor Mitch Daniels began dismantling unions and the public education system. Wisconsin may be facing the same fate. And they are both run by right-wing Republicans who believe the private sector can do everything better. The accumulatin of money is the goal; screw the common good. And now Mitch is working on dismantling my alma mater, Purdue University.

maxiemom

Tell the banks to pay the back taxes on the properties they own and there would be no economic problem in Detroit.

YouKnowMe

Prove the economic policy was “liberal progressive” instead of “greedy auto and steel execs manipulating the economy to line their pockets in true conservative fashion.”

Jake Witmer

There is not one iota of difference between the policies of Bush and Obama. All presidents are puppets of the central bankers. The Ds and Rs both agree on every area of policy that allows sociopaths to steal unlimited money from simpleton conformists. Take the red pill, wake up.

gemma liar

I agree that dem and repubs are in bed collectively to fatten THEIR individual pockets,,,,,I also DIS agree with your wooden statement : ergo U are not worthy of a response chronicling the massive differences.

CM

the thing that immediately springs to mind is the decline of the auto industry leaving the city with a 30% jobless rate and their population had decreased by half leaving a large number of people who did not have the means or ability to leave. couple that with the fact that manufacturing jobs were leaving the united states like rats jumping a sinking ship when a ‘pioneering’ venture capiltalist firm (who shall remain nameless) showed their cronies that they could rake in the bucks via cheap chinese labor and be sitting pretty by the time any of it came back to bite the us in the ass, leaving little or no industries to replace the loss of the autos. blaming the democrats for the decline of detroit makes as much sense as blaming the republicans for the extinction of the dinosaurs.

gemma liar

next to the words insufferable and unmitigated is PAUL ZELINSKI’s photo……. read my back-and-forth diatribe with “sir paul” and see!!!

Paul Zelinski

Your last line about republicans and dinosaurs is cute but has absolutely nothing to do with reality except perhaps to make your fellow liberal progressives laugh at another unique way you were able to make fun of republicans and make yourself feel good about how clever you are.
Before you make comments on what springs to mind, perhaps you should do some research before commenting at all.
The following two paragraphs come from an article I discovered NOT from FOX NEWS but in fact comes from the huffington post:
“Like Detroit, Pittsburgh was a community defined by its dependence on a single industry. But as steelmaking crumbled under pressure from foreign imports and the decline of the U.S. auto industry, the city’s population dropped by more than 40 percent between 1970 and 2006, according to a 2013 report from the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.

But during those years, Pittsburgh also forged a new identity around health care and technology. It retrained former steelworkers, invested heavily in higher education and launched a controversial campaign to redevelop more than 1,000 acres of industrial brownfields, replacing decaying lots with luxury homes, office and retail buildings, and 27 miles of riverfront parks.”
It is the responsibility of the political leadership of the City of Detroit. to make their city attractive enough to draw in new industry to replace the auto industry. It is their responsibility to make Detroit competitive enough that new industries will want to come to Detroit and set up shop. Competition is the hall mark of “free market capitalism”. I know that is a dirty idea here in liberal progressive land.
So for the last 60 years, Detroit, run by liberal progressive Democrats has come to this spot. And as this crisis was coming to a head the city council of Detroit meets and what did they decide on? Did they try to come up with ideas on how to right the ship? Nope. They decided to make it official and stand in solidarity with “Justice for Trevon”. Liberal Progressive Ideology trumps common sense. It also leads to silly comments about republicans and dinosaurs. By the way I really don’t know which party democrat or republican was in control during those years in Pittsburgh but I am sure they weren’t liberals of the liberal progressive kind.
I noticed that gemma liar liked your comment. Perhaps you would like to join his pigeon club. Let him tell you about it

William Carr

If you had done ANY research, you’d know Detroit is in the process of re-inventing itself.

Some of the most powerful corporations in the world have office towers in Detroit; it’s shifting to a new business model.

But without the money to invest, and encourage that sort of shift, Detroit wasn’t able to change gears fast enough.

The people that HAD enough money to pay taxes moved out to the Suburbs BEFORE the decline started, so their revenue wasn’t available to use in rebuilding.

Your throwing in the “Justice for Treyvon” reference is, on first glance, completely irrelevant… but on second glance, is probably a sign you’re a Racist.

You see, the people that rant the most about social justice issues are the people that are bigots, and are bitterly resentful that any minority would dare to stand up for their rights, or expect Justice.

Now, maybe you’ll come back with a logical explanation of how Detroit’s financial woes are compounded by the City leaders commenting on the Treyvon Martin case.

But I think you’ve got no leg to stand on.

Likewise, your claim that Liberal policies are responsible for Detroit’s manufacturing losses… when those losses were caused by nation-wide policies with international trade…

They believe whatever another Conservative says, because that feels good.

They blame all their mistakes on Liberals, because that feels good.

And they cherry-pick any opportunity to insist that Liberal or Progressive policies are wrong, despite the evidence that it’s Trickle Down Economics that’s a failure.

Paul Zelinski

How do I respond to your bigoted rant against conservatives and me in particular. Let’s start with me shall we? A few years ago I was a hospice volunteer which meant I gave 4 hours a week to a family who had a loved one dying in their home. I went to the home so the family could get a break for 4 hours to do what they needed to do. For a year and a half I visited the home of a black muslim. He was elderly and the terminal cancer he had progressed slowly. Much of the time during my visits was spent reading aloud to him from the Koran. He couldn’t see very well to read it himself. He looked forward to my visits each week. I’d read a couple of surats then close the book and we’d chat for a bit on what it meant to him and we’d compare notes Chirstian to Muslim about the meaning and purpose of life etc as he was coming to the end of his. Sometimes I’d go with him to a social event at his Mosque. I literally became part of his family. At his funeral and reception following the family and friends couldn’t thank me enough for all I did for him. There was not a white face to be seen anywhere except mine. To this day it is one of my fondest memories. So you just keep thinking that I’m racist because that makes YOU feel good and morally superior. You just keep on boxing up me and my fellow conservatives in the box called tribal because that also makes you feel good and frees you from having to confront how empty is liberal progressive ideology that is a cancer on society eating away at the heart and soul of America (Detroit is the perfect example…but I won’t hold my breath for you to see it). In the meantime I will continue to personally live by the advice of MLK to judge someone by the content of their character not the color of skin, gender or sexual orientation. You just continue to box people who disagree with you in a box..so you can feel good about yourself. The 1/3 of your comments that was not a bigoted rant was completely lacking in substance except for the usual catch phrases like trickle down economics. It must be bad it doesn’t even sound good. But I do compliment you on your Latin skills though. By the way I accept your apology in advance for thinking me racist and I await your substantive explanation of how liberal progressive rule in Detroit has moved that city forward to become the model for all America. I may or may not respond since I am trying to “un-troll” myself from this site.

Jeannie Barber

“Some of my best friends are,,,” has NEVER been a sufficient riposte, but nice try. Because you were good to ONE person belonging to a minority, I’m supposed to take your diatribe against liberals as factual? Again, nice try.

Paul Zelinski

I am not trying to make you do anything. Your own bigotry is set in stone. You own words give you away. Your need to put me and my story in a box called “Some of my best friends are ..” is telling. If you feel comfortable putting me there…then I’m happy for you

Screaming Mandrake

I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt here, that you are not a racist because, frankly, that’s too easy a label to pin on someone. But at the same time, I’m going to ask a question, so please give it some thought and answer it honestly: if it weren’t for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the example he set for all of us, would you hold the same charitable notions toward African-Americans that you do now? You surely must admit that he was a liberal/progressive.

Re your quote of that Huffpost article, you need to realize that any large online news source – as well as any large circulation newspaper – is going to retain at least one columnist with a philosophy that opposes the mainstream in that organization, just to provide some balance, even if the balance is just token in nature. This excerpt from another Huffpost article is closer to the mainstream opinion of that news outlet:

“It is easy to blame Detroit’s problems on corruption, unions and overly generous pension benefits. None of these factors were the primary cause of bankruptcy.

The main factor was the steady erosion of the tax base and the city’s need to borrow moneyto maintain even a minimal level of public services. The last time Detroit had a balanced budget was 2005. Michigan was in the fifth year of what turned out to be a 10 year recession, that no one foresaw. Detroit borrowed money to stay afloat which, in hindsight, may have been unwise. But with declining state support (due in large part to major tax cuts accepted by state policymakers, in a futile effort to resurrect the factory economy) , borrowing appeared to be the only option to maintain even a minimal level of public safety and basic services. Better financial management would have helped but would have only delayed the inevitable.”

Sirk

Makes sense from a Shock Doctrine perspective. Same thing happened to Greece. Germany convinced Greek leaders to buy way more military hardware then they could afford, and when the global recession hit, Greece was unable to pay. So, the Greek people will suffer because of their leaders poor judgement (or worse).

Dana

That was just an elaborate version of the argument “some of my best friends are black.”

Green knows no politics and we all know a Republican will do whatever he can to acquire it, even things he wouldn’t do in his spare time.

It’s not bigotry if you’re basing your belief about a person on the way they actually behave. You’re sitting here spouting off about progressives when you have zero grasp of the history involved. If you don’t want people to think you are ignorant, quit acting ignorant.

YouKnowMe

Oh, the lengthy defensive “I am TOO a good person, look at all the worthy things I do, you, you . . . LIBERAL!”

That was a complete waste of words, Paul. Maybe you impressed yourself–conservatives are notorious for their preening vanity–but nobody else.

suesista

I’m sure you’re a lovely person. But you’re no different from anyone else, you see? Naturally no-one wants to be perceived as bigoted—completely understandable. But you are prejudiced against Democrats, aren’t you? You call them ‘liberals’ and ‘progressives’ (and there’s no mistaking those terms for endearments)—they are monolithic to you as evidenced in your comments. And so of course no one will listen, because most Democrats aren’t liberal or progressive at all—rather they are merely persons who happen to vote for Democrats.

Sirk

maybe you are a decent person, but you’ve certainly swallowed the Kool-Aid of political conservatism. Try reading Richard Wolff or Gar Alperovitz. There is another way. Visiting one dying guy is a noble thing to do, but it doesn’t counter the destruction of the country if you vote for people like Mitt Romney/Paul Ryan. (Full disclosure: Obama/Biden and the rest of the Dems are no better, in my opinion. They are all beholden to the 1%, and are not working for the common good of most Americans.)

Paul Zelinski

Of course I’m a decent person. But the way people here talk about conservatives and Republicans you would think I was some sort of 7 headed monster with fangs. I don’t particularly like Kool-Aid that is why I came to my political conservatism through my brain not my taste buds having once been a flaming wild eyed liberal. Since I like to feed my brain I will check out the names you mentioned. While I’m doing that you can check out Thomas Sowell and Victor Davis Hansen. We would probably have a lively discussion on who would make a better president Romney or Obama. I voted Romney as the lesser of 2 evils. I do think we are in agreement on the basic problem. Too many people looking to Washington to solve their problems, too much power in Washington breeding crony capitalism. Too many people taking sides as to which political party has their best interests at heart. Neither the Democratic Party nor the Republican Party has my best interest at heart. The party that has my best interest at heart is me. (It is from that last line that springs my political conservatism)
I did see your other postings but I chose not to reply to them. I came to this site as a “Troll” and I am trying to escape before I actually turn into one. What does a troll look like anyway….maybe a 7 headed monster with fangs huh?

Peter Simatos

I voted Obama for the same reason, the tea party scared the shit out of me and the thought of Romney plus the tea party was to much to take.

Talon Trevor MacDonald

Sorry Bucky, Most of those world based companies are pulling out of Detroit. The only truly surviving Auto company from Detroit is Ford, and they are choosing to build elsewhere. The City cannot provide actual Law Enforcement or Emergency care, Better than 40 % of the city is without proper utilities and is considered abandoned. There are SQUARE MILES of Industrial buildings and such simply collecting rust and dust. a QUARTER of the City Property is considered contaminated, and therefore unusable.

Holli

I don’t blame anything on a Party. Please do not ASSume to know what I think or how I feel bc that is what someone told YOU and it felt good to do so. Both sides have messed things up. A wise man said we’d be in trouble if we stuck with 2 parties – looks like he was right. I find it odd that moderate/conservative Independents can have a conversation and mix each sides views into almost solving world peace – then I go to a right or left leaning page and find name calling and more hate. It’s sad bc we should so much more than that.

Dana

No, you aren’t sure about who has been running Pittsburgh. You didn’t look it up.

I just looked up their current mayor. He’s a Democrat. Pennsylvania, by the way, is typically a blue state.

suesista

You’re pretty cute and clever your own self. Just a mild observation from out here in liberal progressive land. Seems snark can dribble out no matter HOW superior you think you are.

Sirk

Isn’t Pittsburgh a sort of white man community? So maybe the work-ethic stereotype was not brought to bear there? BTW, have you ever read The Shock Doctrine?

Jake Witmer

progressive =/= liberal. Classical liberal defines the term liberal. It was in use hundreds of years, and has a long history. Google “Why I am not A Conservative” by Hayek, and get a real education. Liberalism (libertarianism) is the only political philosophy that isn’t inherently sociopathic.

Paul Zelinski

Thank you for the google link. I am in the middle of reading it. (By the way I will determine if the education is real or not. I can think for myself thank you very much) While reading, these lines direct from the essay jumped out at me:

“It is, indeed, part of the liberal attitude to
assume that, especially in the economic field, the self-regulating forces of the market will
somehow bring about the required adjustments to new conditions, although no one can
foretell how they will do this in a particular instance. There is perhaps no single factor
contributing so much to people’s frequent reluctance to let the market work as their
inability to conceive how some necessary balance, between demand and supply, between
exports and imports, or the like, will be brought about without deliberate control. The
conservative feels safe and content only if he is assured that some higher wisdom watches
and supervises change, only if he knows that some authority is charged with keeping the
change “orderly.”
As a an advocate of free market capitalism apparently according to Mr. Hayek that makes me a liberal. But the liberals/progressives ( I use the terms interchangeably) here don’t want liberty they want bigger government and more oversight and control by that government over our lives. For example they want the government to completely take over the health care industry force individuals to buy health insurance or risk punishment because they don’t trust or are afraid of insurance companies. They want the Government to watch over and supervise the health care industry to the point of actually taking it over. I am all for individual liberty and limited government and the rule of law based on the Constitution. But from what I have read of his essay so far that makes me liberal right?

maxiemom

What’s killed Detroit are:

1) BIG BUSINESSES, mainly the automotive industry, moving out. Jobs left. Unfortunately, so did Motown, but losing those jobs didn’t hurt anywhere near as much as losing the manufacturing jobs connected to the auto industry alone.

2) The current crisis is so many banks not paying taxes on FORECLOSED properties, and the city not having the manpower and funds to find out who the deadbeat banks are.

So, in other words, it wasn’t Detroit’s Democratic mayors that killed the city, but sociopath policies by big banks and big business that have done it.

Get your freaking facts straight.

Paul Zelinski

spinning spinning spinning. Those aren’t facts.

maxiemom

Just because you don;t like it does not mean it’s not true.

Read David Dayen’s piece from March 2013 ‘How Deadbeat Banks Pushed Detroit To the Brink”…

It isn’t the only article written on the subject.

Paul Zelinski

There are many factors. But to completely ignore the fact that Detroit was run for 60 straight years by one party, the democrats is also a factor…which leads quite easily to corruption. Just because you don’t like it doesn’t mean it isn’t true.

maxiemom

Hmmm… Detroit wasn’t in dire straits until the auto industry left along with other manufacturing, mostly related.

That had NOTHING to do with Democrats and corruption but everything to do with business greed.

You, like everyone of your ilk, simply can’t deal with reality nor facts, so you conveniently make them up to fit your own twisted reality.

Paul Zelinski

The one making up facts is you my friend. And we dare not touch the holy of holies of liberal progressives the Unions in this case the UAW and their exorbitant demands allowing foreign car companies to compete for the us markets…and don’t forget taxes and the high crime rates that plague Detroit. What were the wonderful democrats who were in charge of the city doing about that? And of course they can’t be corrupt they are democrats. So the mayor and the political leaders in Detroit have absolutely nothing to do with what happened in Detroit? And I am the one out of touch with reality?

maxiemom

“And I am the one out of touch with reality?”

Yes, you are. You prove it with every keystroke.

Now go away, troll, and find some bridge to block.

Dana

I live in Columbus, Ohio, run by progressive liberals for at least the last ten-going-on-eleven years, and we’re nothing like Detroit and not even close to getting there.

Detroit hemorrhaged a heck of a lot of jobs. There is no way you are going to keep a city running in a healthy way without employment for its people, no matter who’s sitting up there at City Hall.

You might want to keep that in mind next time you vote for a Republican scumbag who wants to bleed more jobs out of this country so you can save five cents at Wal-Mart.

Not that some Democrats aren’t the same way; I see quite a few of them getting involved in these “free trade” deals. But I note that the ones most likely to buy into that are the ones with ideals closest to those of the Republican Party. Do a Google search for “Democratic Leadership Council” if you’re curious.

Jake Witmer

You’ve bought into an inconsistent ideology. Look up “classical liberal” if you’d like to consistently support individual freedom. The very second that you want to steal from someone to give to someone else, you’re giving sociopaths unlimited power. Government isn’t “Burger King” it’s not done “your way.” Because government has the power to tax whether you like the result or not, you get consistently poor results. Add to that the fact that the government schools now fail to educate people about history, philosophy, law and economics, and you have a recipe for disaster. You yourself, if you think the government schools are doing a good job, cannot name 5 ways your right to a proper jury trial have been eroded or infringed on.

Vicki Trusselli

i have a sis in the desert in cali who told me not to long ago “I used to be like you until i married my husband(Mormon) and he convinced me I should be Republican. You are a strong woman but I am now Republican” I had a cousin who got mad at me because i told her Obama was not a Muslim. then sis daughter starting posting racists posters that I knew were not true and i found the story to prove her posters were not accurate. sis answered on daughter fb with derogatory words about how obama was runing america etc. sis unfriended me. the cousin unfriended me and i unfriended the daughter and feel so much better as the sis had been accusing me of being hateful and arrogant etc etc. whew. it is they are not on my fb. they are sheep

Lyola M Roeske Shafer

I finally decided it is not worse to dump a relative than it is an acquaintance when either or all of them spout the disease of greed and hate. It can be done surreptitiously or noisily, but just do it. They do not deserve our guilt feelings.

Judi Parmer Todd

Vicki. Blood does not a family member make. I myself have as little to do with my sister, as possible. Altho she too is a Democrat, she is definitely a sociopath and hate filled, and also filled with unfounded jealousy. Because I ended up on SS Disability due to an accident and many, many health issues, and she had to work (to payoff her DOUBLE MORTGAGE), she thinks my life is SO much easier than hers. And she lets me know this all the time. Well, EFF her. I have MANY friends that are more like family to me than her. So, like you, it’s better for my OWN sanity, to just keep as far from her as possible. Good for you.

Vicki Trusselli

yes it is sad. yet we have to distance ourselves from their rhetoric of bs distributed by their sociopaths gops

Dennisdread_2000

1.There are conservative dems.
2. There exists in our society a deep hatred for those who may not be killing themselves in the way that your sister is. Unfortunately. Capitalists have taught us to resent those who are not working themselves to death for someone else’s profit margin. Why so many of us buy this I do not know.

Sirk

They were quoting from the Book of Limbaugh, no doubt.

Liz

On our family yahoo group to keep in touch (it is a large family) people in our christian (catholic raised) family post offensive political right wing things and I say there is just no place for that on a family page for family activities and events. I don’t agree with what they say, sure they can have an opinion, however, the thing that irritates me is the page is supposed to be about FAMILY.

ebmom123

I’ve flat our replied to family members who have emailed me their hateful GOP propaganda and told them flat out that I felt insulted because they KNOW I not only don’t agree with anything the GOP stands for, but I refute to read any hateful stuff to begin with. People have no lives, they must kick people when they are down. Pathetic.

Lyola M Roeske Shafer

Be grateful that they are telling you who they really are so that you do not accidentally get too involved with them. They can act normal, you know.

jim55price

I’ve been taught to disbelieve the “good at heart” idea. There’s an older phrase I’ve learned to employ : “as within, so without.” That is, people who behave badly on the outside are correspondingly bad on the inside.

I realize this convicts us all of some level of badness, but that is exactly the point : when I see myself misbehaving, using this better teaching I can understand quickly that I can’t ignore it because I’m “good at heart;” rather, I need to address my own issues because what I do on the outside is a projection of what is within.

So I look at people who discount & abuse others, & I don’t see “good at heart.” I see black-hearted human derelicts baring their teeth in pretended smiles while filling their pockets & bellies & bank accounts, too, at the expense of anyone within reach — and, of course, lying about it, usually to themselves & always to you & me, while running for office in order to enact draconian laws to discount & abuse even more.

Whalebone

Many of them are good people, they are just living in the guidence of fear. That is by design. The design must change before anything can help alter that path.

Whalebone

*guidance

waltinseattle

good at heart? scorpions have no hate of those they sting.

Diane

Good people do not hold with these ideas. They have been infected with Republicanism and Tea Partyism and stupidity to the max. Good people do not hate everyone who is not like them. They are sociopaths and are dangerous.

denxerw2000

Don’t be afraid to use the actual word. You’re describing psychopaths, not sociopaths. Sociopaths usually are marginalized by their affliction and cannot easily achieve to be charming and to hold positions of power. Psychopaths on the other hand… well, its your guy! 😉

jeczaja

Originally these folks (about 4% of the population) were called moral imeciles. Psychopath, sociopath have been replaced by anti-social personality disorder. The classic work was “The Mask of Sanity” and a modern one “The Sociopath Next Door” They have no emotional connection to others, thus no conscience. At all.

Dr. Scott

The generalization of a population of people based on the views of one individual is disgustingly inappropriate. This writer should know better. He’s a hypocrite; this commentary is sociopathic, so I find it all the more amusing and unsurprising that his displeasure comes in the sociopathic views of someone else.

Paul Zelinski

exactly

Scott Jones

I agree with most of the comments in this. The only one I have a hard time with is about the church. I’m a member of the church and a God fearing person. But I came about my beliefs by reading and watching. I don’t know what church some of you go to but here is where I stand on certain issues. I’m all for the GBLT lifestyle. I have gay and lesbian friends that I would help out in a minute. I’m for lesser rules for illegal immigration. My ancestors came from Wales in the late 1800s at a time when all you really needed to know about America was a working knowledge of its history and a passable understanding of the language. Everyone comes to this country for a reason. Let’s give them a fair share of what we have. The whole everyone needs to pull themselves up by their boot straps is all fine and good. But we also need to help the less fortunate. Not everybody decides to be homeless or without a job. My politics lean quite a bit to the left. We need to protest for what we believe in. And it’s usually the police that keep our voices down. Through out history this has be proven. The Haymarket “Riot”, the Ludlow Massacre, the Kent State killings. I could go on but I won’t. I just wanted to add my voice to this. Thank you for letting me do this.

James Daley

My question to you is…….have you made this an issue with the church you go to? Have you said to the priest that the church is wrong in defending this position against marriage equality? If you support the church financially and not demand any kind of change your support of the GBLT is pointless. The church will only change when its bottom line is affected……money. Do you ask your church to be more environmentally conscious? Does your church recycle or do anything to lesson into environmental impact?

DrMichael

Money should not be the bottom line of any Church. If it is, rebuke them. If they do not change, walk away and wipe the dust off your feet.

wolfendenpackleader

Scott. I am so sorry for you. Why do you fear your God so much that you have to call yourself a God fearing person ?

Did you know that in religions where the followers fear their Gods, they only last a short time compared to other religions and their Gods/Goddesses ?

Probably about 45 years ago when I was reading an Ann Landers column, a person wrote her with the same line ” I am a God fearing Christian” and Ann wrote her back about what I did you and said that Ann, herself, was a God loving person. With all of the fear mongering the GOP and the rightwing radicals keep drumming into people, one would think that with all of the fear the government puts out in the media everyday, the last place people would go to for comfort or whatever is a place built to worship a God who promotes fear in its followers.

UrbanBreeze

Sociopathy is so hard to prove, yet so very devastating to everyone they touch …. with no remorse, no empathy, no conscience it would seem.
This is the exact reason WHY politicians need to be HELD ACCOUNTABLE for the things they SAY and DO … not ignored in angry silence.

They are good at flipping things to look like everyone else is in the wrong, excellent at it, which is why they could paint the President as a terrorist when really they are Hitler reincarnated themselves.

America is in deep trouble if they do not take this seriously and start doing something about it .. fast.

Excellent post.

Clematis

I had a boss that I would definitely describe as a sociopath. And yes, it is very hard to prove – you seem almost petty trying to do so. But, for those of us who had to survive around him, it was pretty demoralizing and devastating for some. Their was a hugh collective sigh of relief in my workplace when he left. What a different atmosphere there is there now.

Baaly

Clematis, there’s been quite a bit of research which suggests “white collar” psychopaths make the best bosses and CEO’s.

65snake

well, more successful at climbing that corporate ladder. Certainly not the best bosses and CEO’s – more like the worst.

Baaly

Yeah, I didn’t really comment that out too well :). More successful at climbing the corporate ladder and positive financial turn around because they are so ruthless. Businesses consider them to be the ‘best’ CEO’s and bosses, not because they are wonderful to their staff, but because they are ruthless.

Thanks for pointing out my error in comment there 65snake 🙂

65snake

i did understand what you meant. 🙂

I find it horrible that being an awful person leads to material success. Rather compelling evidence that life just isn’t fair, LOL.

Decent human beings really need to find a way to stop rewarding asshattery.

Baaly

Completely with you on that, my friend.

Michael Barbere

Stan is not quite the archetype of sociopathic behavior. Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD) is characterized as “ongoing disregard for the rights of others.” This might be hard concept for those that subscribe to the tenants of modern American liberalism, but Stan does care about the rights of others as individuals and rejects collective rights. Stan might be expressing his distaste for those that do not share his ideology in a unconventional and obnoxious (too many drinks) way. However, using the statements presented Stan is by no means a sociopath in the ASPD sense.

Paul Zelinski

Good analysis Michael

ptptp

How do you separate individual rights from collective rights? For example, if women’s suffrage is repealed, the rights of individuals and a collective group. Many of the safeguards put into the Constitution is to protect the rights of minorities from majority tyranny.

gemma liar

I want as much as I can get,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,but Im not gonna screw people to do it ( except those who are stupid enough to get screwed…..EXAMPLE: I pay my employees above average wage and throw them bonuses.) I believe in “GOD” but I KNOW that GOD is NOT defined my any/all religion- and I am loving watching the disgusting RIGHTWING scumbag Christians CRY about everything from a black muslim socialist communist martian anti-American president ( SEE: FOX “news”) to gay EQUAL rights to the justifiable murder of abortion to Zimmerman being the victim. ABORTION???? must be murder,,,TRAYVON? a career criminal who probably stole the skittles

Paul Zelinski

Gemma I have finally come to the conclusion that it is you in fact who is the LEmming who mouths whatever “information” you glean from the alphabet networks not realizing e.g the dispatcher tape was conveniently edited to make Zimmerman sound like a racist for which Zimmerman is going to sue NBC, Trevon was not this 14 year old cutie black kid walking home with a bag of skittles, but a 17 year old who tragically no longer lived with either of his parents, became addicted to drugs at 15, his drug of choice was a combination of fruit drink, skittles and cough syrup called “Lean”, the side effect of which is to make one aggressive and paranoid (coincidence?) , was fascinated with the gang culture (which afflicts far too many black youths), was currently suspended (again! the other times were for fighting) from school, stemming from being caught with jewelry and a flat screw driver (a burglary tool) in his back pack. The neighborhood in which the tragedy happened had experienced a rash of break ins and robberies. It is horrible that this young man lost his life. I blame Al Sharpton and the race hucksters for turning it into a political and media circus. The prosecution was unable to bring a shred of evidence for a 2nd Degree murder conviction. The jury believed Zimmerman’s version of self defense and the evidence supported it (the broken nose and the lacerations on the back of the head consistent with his head being pounded into the concrete.) I remember when the story just broke the alphabet networks were speculating and HOPING that it was some burly white “Tea bagger”. When it turned out George was Hispanic they invented a new race, “White Hispanic”. That would be like calling Barack Obama a white black man. To all of this Gemma will shout louder “FOX NEWS, FOX NEWS” . He is so predictable. But facts are facts. And oh did you know that when George was in HS he took a black girl to the prom. Hardly the behavior of a racist.

gemma liar

Hmmmm,,,,,,,,,, 200 lb 28 yr old with gun,,,,,,,,,,,,,, 145 lb 17 yr old with skittles…..
Hmmmmmm…………………..
(NOTE: Sharpton is a scumbag; as bad as the creeps on the right as he capitalizes on the stupidity of the lefties who do not do homework)
you were saying,,,O saint paul???

Paul Zelinski

180 6 ft tall 17 year old with concrete sidewalk which he was pounding Zimmerman’s head into (the evidence supports this), 5′ something out of shape Hispanic. Yes he had a concealed weapon permit. And last I checked people have a right to defend themselves when attacked. And once again trial evidence supports Zimmerman’s side of the story. Case closed. Skittles has nothing to do with who attacked who except as a prop to propagandize the whole thing.

gemma liar

of course!!! and I wonder if ZIMMERMAN –by NOT having a gun; or NOT hassling this KID,,,,, would’ve had the guts ( see: moxie) to go up to the TEEN ( underage I checked) and bother him as he was walking to his DADS house….. GEEE: this wanna be COP in effect picks a fight; gets whats coming to him,,,,and KILLS the guy who was hassled for NO REASON ( ooops: walking) because he was ” under attack”…..please explain this to me……in other words- if I go up to ex linebacker Ray Lewis and pick a fight ( y’know…. start hassling him for no reason and I do not back down and he starts trashing me) I can– by YOUR impeccable paralogism– shoot said ex-linebacker and U would say LEWIS deserved it!!! LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!!! LETS ALL HEAR IT FOR POMPOUS PILATE PAUL AND HIS TRAVELLING POSTURING!!

Paul Zelinski

Where do you get your facts? One it was not his DAD’s house it was His DAD’s girlfriend’s house. He was not just walking home. He was acting suspiciously. Prompting the phone call and conversation between Zimmerman and the police dispatcher. Did you even listen to the entire conversation between Zimmerman and the dispatcher? Or just what you heard from the alphabet networks? He did NOT walk up to the TEEN and confront him. He was explaining to the dispatcher where he thought he was. When he lost sight of him he got out of his car to find out where he went. When he was walking back to his car that is when the confrontation took place. If your “Ray Lewis” fantasy concoction story were true there would be some evidence that the prosecution could have presented. They didn’t. True that is Zimmerman’s side of the story and he could have been lying. But when he was being interrogated at the police station one of the detectives lied to him and told him that there was a video of the entire confrontation to test his reaction (Detectives can be sneaky like that. Zimmerman’s reaction “Thank God it was videotaped”. If he were lying would he say that? He also passed a polygraph test. Zimmerman might be guilty of something but definitely not 2nd Degree murder and definitely not racism. The prosecution overplayed their hand for political purposes and now the race hucksters are going to milk it for all its worth. You have been thinking with the wrong head for far too long. You need to start using the one the boasts an IQ of 161. Oh maybe you have taken 1 too many viagras.

gemma liar

first,,,,,,,,,,, any micropenile ballroom sloth who transposes his Viagra comment is showing his lack of use ( SEE: neglect) of that anatomical part,,,,,, second: even YOU say Zimmerman COULDVE BEEN LYING???? Hmmmm,,, according to the adherence of judicial law/protocol,,,,DOUBT renders an argument bereft of conviction as DOUBT to a jury hangs said jury. Thank U for your incompetence here,,,,” He was acting suspiciously” ,,,,according to WHOM???? the weapon carrying neighborhood WATCHER? I didn’t realize the LAW allowed the judge and jury within this creeps power!! ( again: thank U for your incompetency here),,,and who F*CKING cares if its his dads dogs cats friends house,,,,he was walking somewhere where he was ENTITLED to walk; was accosted and did what most HEALTHY men would do— went after the scumbag who accosted him. (NOTE : I am willing 2 wager a whole American dollar that if the REAL police were asking martin what he was doing he would NOT have been SHOT) You paul are an insufferable cretin whom Im enjoying eviscerating even as U proudly cry with no reasons. If theis zimbag didn’t have a gun he would NOT HAVE ACCOSTED THE YOUTH,,,,,whats your insipid shitbag take upon that???? Go to church with all the other closed minded losers and tithe…bet to the ballroom with the chics who aren’t fit to be with a virile man ( SEE: me) and please make certain yopu again respond here as its quite clear you cannot be reasoned with ; ergo my delight in pummeling you knowing anything I write will be either ignored or twisted. you turn st pauli girl
” ballroom dancing”,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Paul Zelinski

You are going to stick to your opinion, facts notwithstanding. Seems like I struck a nerve with the Viagra comment…so be it. Debating you is like playing chess with a pigeon no matter what move I make (the facts of the Zimmerman case) you shit on the board, squawk insufferably and strut around like you won….as your last comment clearly demonstrates.

gemma liar

a man who brags about ballroom dancing and without any reason brings up drugs to stiffen his flaccid weenie is certainly a “man” to all of us who read. facts: kid going to a home of friend: accosted by imbecile with gun— does what he should’ve done– started re-arranging the assailants face— assailant shoots him,,,,again I LUV how U ignore my asking U what U thought ( thought??) of “what if” cops sasked him where he was going,,,,would teen have been shot,,,ot arrested? NOPE– I would luv 2 meet U but I have met waaay too many of your crybaby aging status: so I will be as benny hill in his skit: simply skip on to my deeee-lightful adult life of income,,,exercise and quotidian fornication/ coitus with my 5’6 136 lb “DD” ( natural of course) girlfriend leaving you to practice thy daily quest of onanistic behavior,,,in the churched good graces of course. Now tell me I need a life; need prick-hardening drugs ( OH THE PAIN POOR PAUL) and my ersatz IQ while you can limp on to the alcohol and television and whatever creatures of your broken and slowly dying breed do—- WATCH and LAMENT

Paul Zelinski

Still shitting on the chess board I see….yawn…I’m getting bored. I need to get a life and stop trying to convert a mentally ill idiot who’s screen name is gemma liar….good bye!

gemma liar

awww……….. getting hammered here and giving up! NOTE: Gemma Marie Vozza is an ex who is a righting ( familial) Christian; poppa a pastor spewing the same idiocy as PAUL flaccido- she cut her boobs from a god given DD to a C for NO REASON: she lied to all her boyfriends ( I was her guy 12 yrs ago- didn’t lie to me then as she was “in love ” with my secular ass),,,,had an affair with me after I dumped her and she married a Christian man,,,,,,, then she met another Christian and they proceeded to have such violence that cops were called /restraining orders ETC- all while using poor sould she met on Christian dating sites: how typical of the mentally disturbed who KNOW that JESUS will save them ( after life of COURSE) and she is now even more screwed up as she cannot find a guy as she HAS2 have a CHRISTIAN to placate poppa!!! Sounds like you sir paul would be a fit for her except she likes tall muscular men with insatiable sex drives ( ME: guilty) who can make her laugh. I did enjoy watching you fold up from the inability to keep playing “chess” with me. Are you certain your name isn’t roger brest? he was some idiotic dried out sexually repressed jew that Gemma and I used toi ridicule a decade ago– and he; such as thee would NEVER bend. Trees that bend survive- rigidity as shown by poppinjays such as U and roger eventually break under the accumulated weight of your inner pain. Au Revoir O failed conservative— lets all sail away watching your dying ‘party’ atrophy into the oblivion it deserves

Paul Zelinski

And the Pigeon struts…ya just gotta love it. Take care pigeon!

gemma liar

YEAH BAY-BEEEE!!! I like the bird call,,in fact: I will include U also my dear excrement friend ( after all; Ive been pooping on you a lot–) so: palsy is now DODO to all who have enjoyed our banter! pigeon poop on dodo! easy to do as extinction has enveloped you for centuries! BYEBYE POOPSIE!

gemma liar

hey Kreskin,,,,,,, as a self employed CHEF I work Friday night: the “HOT” date was in me being awakened sat morning by my “el lanzellama” TRIPLE D ( I thought double; excuuuse my lack of observation as she is new to me) ladyfriend Katherine. Finally rolled out of bed at about 315pm. …..now: about ” ballroom dancing”….I find with a TON of experience that BEDROOM dancing is the choice of “no life” miscreants such as MEEEEE

gemma liar

DODO…………………….
MOA,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, PAULI ZEE: all sharing same fate,,,,,, being pooped on by superior species

Paul Zelinski

by the way its Friday…don’t you have a hot date or something?

gemma liar

LET ME PLACE THIS ANOTHER WAY— if I met U and knew U were as disgusting as U are,,,and I picked a fight and U actually raised u hand to me I can shoot you as Im “feeling threatened”?????
same principle here O paul of the mountain,,,,same pedantic principle

Paul Zelinski

Again that is not what the evidence showed. You can’t create out of whole cloth something that didn’t happen. We are a nation of laws not emotions. If it happened exactly as you described….then he is guilty. But it didn’t happen that way.

Oh, please. Asking that would be like asking a responsible gun owner if they’re a James Holmes fan. You know, the guy who shot all those people in Aurora? Are you a fan of him?

CM

as i’ve always observed, religions like christianity are a magnet for sociopath types, what could be easier; do what ever you like and all you have to do every once in a while is to decry yourself a sinner (of course in the form that “everyone” is a sinner, so as not to actually point a finger at you) and say you’re sorry to god. easy peasy! there is also the huge bonus of sitting in judgement of everyone else. until recently they have skillfully used smoke and mirrors to attempt to distract others from this behavior. enter the likes of paul ryan and co. waving the new sociopath’s bible: atlas shrugged. “there, someone has said it out loud, it’s ok to be a sociopath, praise the lord!!”. allowing the wolves in modest’s clothing to step out into the light crying, ‘WE’RE SELFISH AS HELL, AND WE’RE NOT GONNA TAKE IT ANYMORE”…

Thumper Bumper

If you only worry about yourself, that’s called selfish and it will be hard to move forward in life because you will learn that outside influences seep in and you can’t control those around you. It;s those closed up people who can’t control people around them that become whack jobs/terrorists. People need to be not left nor right. But a slight balance to the left or right… Balance is the key to everything. Didn’t Obi Wan teach that?! We can learn from the Jedi… just sayin’

Paul Zelinski

Very well put Thumper. The heart of what a conservative believes is the sovereignty of the individual and limited Government. It is what our nation at its beginnings is founded on. Show me a conservative who is selfish and I will show you someone who is NOT conservative.

wilson

Perhaps the better word would’ve been Republican. To a man, every Republican I know is a self-absorbed asshole and most were drunks for decades.

Jim

I’m an atheist, but the actions of many Christians these days make me wish God was real… it’d be worth it to burn in hell forever just to watch the surprised looks on the ‘Christian’ greedmongers faces as they joined me in the lake of fire.

DrMichael

God is real. If you ask Him in prayer to reveal Himself to you, He will. Even if you feel foolish praying to some make-believe person, if you have an open mind and your prayer is sincere, your prayer WILL be answered, in time. “Seek and ye shall find.”

Jim

I grew up going to Christian schools, went to church every day, prayed soooo hard. I was a big-B Believer. Then I started using logic, and it all fell apart. I’m not going to go into detail here, but the one that made me start wondering and questioning my beliefs is the notion of a deity that is both omnipotent and jealous. Sorry, but if you’re omnipotent, what exactly do you have to feel jealosy over? Think about it.

jackiemearound

Prove it. I see, feel, hear, taste, or smell no “God”. I see some guy and a legion of sociopaths who push an ‘agenda’ of paternalistic mumbo jumbo from the Dark Ages. Go pound sand.

an atheist is as a religious person( flip side) as an atheist BELIEVES there is NO GOD— too many incredible things to arrogantly say that there is NO GOD— I do believe there is NO RELIGIOUS GOD— but NO “GOD”???? sorry– that’s as close minded as a christian

Paul Swanson

Or you could say an atheist is not a religious person by saying they do not believe in any god. If atheism is a religion, not playing the piano is skill. Or you could there are too many incredible things to arrogantly say that there is a god. The complexities of the universe does not mean god, it could just as well be meaningless. Can god create a stone that is so heavy he can not lift it? Could he grow a beard so thick he could not trim it? Does the man make the beard or the beard make the man?

gemma liar

can god make a human so droll he quotes the late George carlins jokes as he himself cannot creat logical dialogue?

ChicagoJohn

A sociopath is the type of person who simplifies their “close friend’s” point of view to:
“…the kind of person Republicans want to create.
A society of people who only worry about themselves. People who ostracize everyone that’s not like them.”

I’m glad you have one that one, conservative, friend, so that you can understand what “all” conservatives think.
That’s not sociopathic, at all. And certainly not bigoted.

Gini Barrett

Try TheChristianLeft on Facebook and you will likely find voices of traditional faith that actually care about what Jesus said and taught. I am not a Christian but I still like what I read there. I also know that a huge portion of the human population is / will be Christian, so I am happier if they are actually good, caring people.

Cis

I used to agree with you, but they have banned me twice from their page for correcting them on some things they had inaccurate. They label anyone with a different opinion on ANYTHING as a troll and permaban you. You aren’t even allowed to question them. No appeal, no questions asked, just gone. I’ve seen it happen to dozens of well-meaning people while I was a member of their page. I discourage supporting them until whichever admins are doing that are removed.

Sociopath

Name-calling, the liberal way

Paul Zelinski

I will leave you wonderful progressives to your comments. We will just have to agree to disagree

Dr. Scott

The absolutely ideal society would be a society where everyone acts in their own *best* interest one-hundred percent of the time. It’s what people perceive to be their “own best interests” that muddies the water. It’s not in a person’s best interests to do something that has a negative impact on the society they live in; for example, tucking every penny you own away rather than circulating it back into the economy — or, in its opposite form, spending every last bit of your money rather than using it to make yourself a more valuable asset to society.

But since it’s not possible for everyone else in society to be as self-centered or selfless as you are, nor is it reasonable to expect society to be that way, life is about balance. You need to be somewhat selfish in order to become optimally selfless. You can’t help those in need unless you’re strong enough to do so. If we lived in a society where everyone was entirely selfless, no single person would accomplish anything, or have the power to help others who need it, or even have the power to help themselves in a time of need.

It’s not always bad advice to tell someone to be more interested in their own well-being rather than that of those around them; particularly if they are more selfless than they are selfish. For the ideally functioning person, and most valuable person in society, is equal parts selfish and selfless.

James Daley

Republicans “Don’t want to Govern, they Want to Rule”. You can see that in many of the states with local governments and governorships dominated by Republican. For a party that wraps its self in the American flag and screams about freedom and liberty they are the first ones to take it away from individuals they don’t agree with. A great example is abortion and marriage equality. Their views are not based on any constitutional argument and purely based on religious doctrine. I have noticed that republican politicians and voters don’t think about the long term effects of their ignorant policies. Lack of access to contraception and proper sex education has led to higher pregnancy rates which has been documented. If you want a society to cut down on the amount abortions then make contraceptive available and not stigmatize it. Also, have your head in the realm of reality when it comes to sexuality and people having sex. People are going to do it…….no matter how religious you are. Most if not all Catholics are hypocrites in one form or another. My wife is a great example of it. She continues to give money to one of the most criminally negligent and oppressive organizations in the world. So called “Christians” are against crimes perpetrated against children, yet the Catholic Church covered up the molestations of children in various parishes for years. To this day, women can’t go any higher in the church hierarchy. A secular organization couldn’t have this blatant discrimination, but it’s ok for the church. The church will never change cause its congregation isn’t demanding it. If you keep giving money in support of them they really have zero reason to change. For the GOP, this is the kind of voter they want….One that follows orders and doesn’t question it. Voters who will be proud republicans and vote against their own interests. You can’t ask for a better base.

Dr. Scott

I have noticed that republican politicians and voters don’t think about the long term effects of their ignorant policies.

And liberal politicians and voters do…?

James Daley

Yes, liberal representatives and voters are much better at seeing and planning for the long term effects of policies that are made into laws. Same sex marriage and abortion are great examples of GOP/ Conservative representatives and voters lacking the vision and rational thinking about the matter.

Most level headed democrats are not trying to create a group of “second class citizen” because of the person they love. They are not trying to enact laws or supporting ballot measures to prevent a certain group of people from getting married. Democrats and liberals voters see advantages to allowing it, from a civil rights standpoint, betterment of society and a revenue source.

The GOP and their supporters are creating an atmosphere of unfair treatment for a certain group of people which is not based on any rational Constitutional argument. Their dissatisfaction is strictly based on religion and unfounded theory. In short, the GOP don’t support equality for all. This creates civil unrest and mountains of legal challenges that clog up the court system. Resources such as police are needed to watch over civil unrest (which cost money) and the slowing down of the court system back logs it. (again spending more money on fighting ridiculous legislation)

By outlawing same sex marriage the GOP and supporters are actively denying the states revenue in fees for marriage licenses. This provides less money for the state in their budgets. They are also actively stopping economic growth and prosperity to businesses in the “Wedding Industry” and other sectors of the economy. If only a certain group, is allowed the privilege of marriage, they are hurting businesses by denying them potential customers. This slows down economic growth and also cut potential tax revenue for the states. The GOP are so called lovers of the free market and their doctrine is anti-regulation. Yet, they are willing to keep certain people out of that market place because of their backward believes and ideology. For a party that detests regulations this goes against everything they believe. They are regulating who someone can marry, love and what rights can be allotted to them. That to me doesn’t sound like champions of freedom and liberty.

By denying gay couples the right to marry and to raise a family they are creating even more problems for society. From inheritance, to fair tax treatment, and to a child’s welfare. The GOP wants make it harder and more expensive for “same sex couples to live the American Dream. Again, this destroys a persons dignity and harms economic growth and prosperity. States that ban same sex marriage make it harder and more costly for local goverments and businesses to operate because a separate set of rules is needed to deal with situation. It’s good to know that the federal government final recognizes it. Yet, some GOP senators wanted to have a amendment added to the constitution to ban it.

The GOP’s anti-abortion policies also hinder and destroy people’s lives. The fact is abortion is a necessary evil in this world. Liberal politician as well as many voters understand there are many examples of why abortion is needed and should be available to the ones who need it. From population control, financial reasons, health concerns, lack of parenting skills, crime prevention and burden to society, abortion needs not be restrained. The GOP is all about life until the baby comes out of the womb and then it’s go to hell. The GOP are the first to cut services for mothers with children in regards to SNAP and any social welfare programs. This creates poverty and long-term health problems that the system will need to address which will cost more money in the long run. In a perfect world, we would all have the financial resources and skills to raise a child but this is the real world and many don’t. When the GOP and their supporters pass legislation to force clinics to close because of unrealistic regulations, they again hinder economic growth and go against their anti-regulations doctrine. They increase unemployment and place economic hardships on the supplier and vendors of the clinics. Getting an abortion is a choice and a tough one at that. The free market is a place goods and services are sold to those people who want it or need it. The GOP don’t have the authority to come in and select those services that people need or want. If you don’t want an abortion then don’t get one. If you choose to have an abortion that is of your own free will and people have many reasons why. That decision has consequences that not only affects the person getting the abortion has to deal with but also how others will have to also deal with it as well. The GOP lacks that insight of the bigger picture and consequences of their actions and can’t see past their nose.

The GOP and their conservatives are not smart when it comes to the big picture. They will continue to be hypocrites and liars. It’s sad that rational and logical people have to put up with such morons.

Mister_Mean

The American Taliban-GOP

anthonyadams

In today’s world of religion, to call yourself a Christian you MUST follow the teachings of Jesus; many Christians today do not and their scriptual quotes show hypocrisy.
The true irony is that many of today’s Christians forget that Jesus was a dark haired, dark eyed, dark skinned, Middle Eastern bleeding heart liberal socialist Jew and who, under Jewish law of the time, was most likely married (probably to Mary Magdeline) and had children, and hated the free market capitalist monetary system. That makes their brain go “Poof!”

DrMichael

I’d up your post except that, no, Jesus was not married and had no children. The rest is spot on.

anthonyadams

Keep in mind, Dr, that the Catholics redacted and edited the Bible, and excluded some books of the New Testament, at the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D. Were Jesus to remain unmarried in his 30’s would give cause to the conservative Jews to bring charges against him as being a rebel and not one of them. Frankly, there is no evidence in the Bible that he was indeed married, but the Bible must also be taken in historical perspective, that of 2,000 years ago and the laws and traditions of that period in time.
Dan Brown’s book, “The DaVinci Code” brings up a lot of unaswered questions once one gets beyond the article of faith and belief that the Christian religions propagate. We probably have more accurate evidence of UFOs than most Biblical scholars can excrete from the Bible and other historical writings on 2,000 years ago. Still, many Biblical scholars (including the revered Vatacin) are asking those same questions; Do UFOs exist and was Jesus married?

Dominique Storni

Word!

John

I could not have said that any better!

KCMOfan

I was raised in an evangelical religion the first 18 years of my life. My grandparents were preachers, etc. The majority of the “Christians” I know are the most self centered, racists, homophobic, xenophobic people I know. It doesn’t seem to matter whether they are educated or not.

My parents were Democrats until the Democrats voted JFK into office. They were on the fence after that. Then Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act, and it was the end of it. They have been Republicans ever since.

When Nixon came along with his Southern strategy they wholeheartedly embraced the GOP. They loved hearing that the lazy blacks were the source of all of our woes. When Reagan spewed his rants against government handouts they completely forgot about their parents getting government “cheese”, (they loved government cheese). Both of my parents have received unemployment checks at various times.

The HYPOCRISY of these people is what turns my stomach.

Like Gandhi said, “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”― Mahatma Gandhi

DrMichael

Amen.

Paul Zelinski

Your understanding of history is completely erroneous. It was the Democrat party that obstructed civil rights for blacks for a century after the civil war. The Civil rights act was passed when a larger majority of republicans than democrats voted for it. A larger percentage of Democrats voted against it. The modern civil rights movement began when Eisenhower enforced the ruling Supreme Court ruling in Brown v the Board of Education with federal troops and Republican Martin Luther King came on the scene.

MiMg

that’s because at the time the DIXIECRATS – i.e. Southern Democrats (which are NOW Republicans) This is pretty simple. Are you for RAISING the Minimum Wage above 7$? If so you are Democrat if not, you are Republican! Are you OK with discrimination (up to and
including termination from employment, eviction from housing, etc) toward gays, blacks, Hispanics, overweight people, etc.? If yes, you are Republican! Do you
believe in EQUAL pay for women? If YES, you are Democrat if NO you are Republican! Are you for Voter Suppression? If YES, you are REPUBLICAN if NO, you are Democrat!
It’s VERY easy to translate Which you are with a few basic questions! Are you for CONSUMER rights or Business rights? If Consumer, you are DEM, if Business u r
Repub! R u for employ EE rights (DEM) or employ ER right (Repub)? its THAT black and white!

MiMg

So not to be judgmental of your parents, but are you saying that your parents don’t like black people? They were (and still are?) against the Voting Rights Act? That’s too bad. yeah, a lot of people don’t realize that there can be quite a difference between northern democrats and southern “dixiecrats”

Marcy

The sociopathic personality is very dangerous and often so manipulative, intelligent and charming that they are hard to recognize. A person without a conscious has no difficulty lying, cheating or much worse. One in 25 people is a sociopath. Now THAT’S scary.

USA MRIID

It’s more than that,m about one third of any demographic votes against their own best interests because they’re incapable of discerning reality. I’d say that one out of every three people are sociopaths, it’s a matter of degree on how it’s expressed, however.

USA MRIID

Yes. We know. The religious are insane. Are you just now noticing that? Seriously.

dee domani

As i can tell from most comments,you can’t fix stupid or i should say nuts.

Baaly

Allen, by comparing republicans to sociopaths is only serving to give sociopaths a bad name 😉

Rusti

Brilliant observations. Throughout my life, with few exceptions, those who have hurt me the most excused it by claiming Jesus Christ as their personal savior! What’s more, they tried to convert me! Now we see this hypocrisy on a massive scale and we are in danger because they play to those who sit in the “amen corner” 1-3 times per week. These people will tell you that Jesus died for our sins. What they don’t know is the lessons he taught while he was alive! So scary sad!

Ilmari

That was quite the strawman right there! I should also spin tales such as that one about the various drug addicts and ne’er-do-wells that I know who are strongly leftist. Because that should tell you all there is to know about leftism?

MiMg

The article was RIGHT ON! This is pretty simple. Are you for RAISING the Minimum Wage above 7$? If so you are Democrat if not, you are Republican! Are you OK with discrimination (up to and
including termination from employment, eviction from housing, etc) toward gays, blacks, Hispanics, overweight people, etc.? If yes, you are Republican! Do you
believe in EQUAL pay for women? If YES, you are Democrat if NO you are Republican! Are you for Voter Suppression? If YES, you are REPUBLICAN if NO, you are Democrat!
It’s VERY easy to translate Which you are with a few basic questions! Are you for CONSUMER rights or Business rights? If Consumer, you are DEM, if Business u r
Repub! R u for employ EE rights (DEM) or employ ER right (Repub)? its THAT black and white!

Eddie Vroom

“Disgusting” is the keyword, isn’t it?..

Elle

There is another option, you know.

I see this strawman (sorry for the cliche, but that’s what it is) argument all the time. “If you only worry about yourself, then you’re also *this*, *this* and *this*.

But, frankly, a society where everyone only worries about themselves (and by that, I MEAN THAT) and stays out of everyone else’s business sounds like utopia. A society where people just are who THEY are, and refrains from telling other people what they should be, or think, or do. A society who’s so incredibly self-centered (centered in self) that they understand the pitfalls of being materialistic. So selfish that they know that until they’ve stripped away all the paranoia, mental disease, and emotional baggage society has brought, they’ll never be of help to anyone else – so they don’t compound the problem by injecting narcissistic help (and until you understand this, all your help is narcissistic) into situations and just make them worse.

Somehow you’ve equated being self-centered with all these unrelated critical connotations. You’ve thrown it in with a list of other negative characteristics (like being greedy or racist or sociopathic), but the only sanity there is, ever, is understanding how impossible (and unethical) it is to a) make other people do what you want them to do, either by laws or guilt or b) “give” to others with the expectation that they do something specific with your giving.

I hate standing on the outside here, because I belong to no political party whatsoever. Because I can see every point of hypocrisy and insanity in both the liberal and conservative mindset. I can also see what’s good and conducive to peace in both of them, as well (and, yes, you BOTH have extremely helpful viewpoints peppered in with all the crazy).

But when you attack them – or they attack you – it makes you all look so very, very, very judgmental, small-minded, and unable to see the strong points you both bring.

You all just need to get your noses out of each other’s business until you truly figure your own nonsense out (and when you figure it out, I can assure you you’ll realize there’s nothing about them that you need to criticize, especially if you desire a change in the world).

MiMg

Long story short, Republicans ARE selfish, they ARE greedy, they DONT care about OTHERS, they CHOOSE to be JUDGMENTAL

Jenn McCarthy

This article is, of course, a ridiculous slur on “white males,” Republicans, church goers, and other groups whom the author ‘doesn’t like.’ Why does this kind of hate-mongering deserve to be published?

MiMg

BECAUSE it’s ACCURATE! Pull your head out and SEE Republicans for WHAT THEY ARE!

Jenn McCarthy

jack-a$$

Matthew Reece

“Even the richest person, provided the riches comes from mutually beneficial exchange, does not need to give anything ‘back’ to the community, because this person took nothing out of the community. Indeed, the reverse is true: enterprises give to the community, their owners take huge risks, and front the money for investment, precisely with the goal of serving others. Their riches are signs that they have achieved their aims.” ~Jeffrey Tucker

MiMg

GET REAL! The RICH NEED to start PAYING their FAIR SHARE! This is pretty simple. Are you for RAISING the Minimum Wage above 7$? If so you are Democrat if not, you are Republican! Are you OK with discrimination (up to and
including termination from employment, eviction from housing, etc) toward gays, blacks, Hispanics, overweight people, etc.? If yes, you are Republican! Do you
believe in EQUAL pay for women? If YES, you are Democrat if NO you are Republican! Are you for Voter Suppression? If YES, you are REPUBLICAN if NO, you are Democrat!
It’s VERY easy to translate Which you are with a few basic questions! Are you for CONSUMER rights or Business rights? If Consumer, you are DEM, if Business u r
Repub! R u for employ EE rights (DEM) or employ ER right (Repub)? its THAT black and white!

Matthew Reece

I am not a Democrat or Republican. I am a free market anarchist.

Dave

I was with you until you brought guns into the discussion. Yes, that description is very typical of conservative attitudes, but guns represent the right of Americans to defend ourselves,our homes, and our families against armed intruders and against a government that would deprive us of our rights. If the government can take away this right of the people, then none of our rights are safe.

MiMg

GUNS and VIOLENCE are NOT the answer, it’s 2013 for Pete sake, time to EVOLVE Human Beings!

Pugsley

To the author: Wow, what tripe! Accusing people of mental illness because you disagree with them? Stalin or Mao would be proud . . .

Granted, the sin of greed has become a virtue, and many of the GOP talking points are rubbish. We have the Gimme Generation on steroids and we see the effects of “me first” when it comes to caring for others.

But equating Republicans and churchgoers with sociopaths is not only offensive. It’s partisan and wrong.

MiMg

It’s NOT just that they DISAGREE with people, it’s that it’s ALWAYS gotta be THEIR way or the HIGHWAY! You’ve heard the Republican Politicans say ON TV and IN the PAPER that they WILL NEVER COMPROMISE! Churchgoers NEED to START standing up and saying they will NOT be judgmental of Gays and those that have Abortions then! They ALSO NEED to STOP passing judgment on those in the community who receive Food Stamps, Medical Assistance, Welfare, etc.

JR

Whole lot of assumptions about a guy he has never met.

Glenna Jones-Kachtik

Right on.

Rick Rudge

I hate to say this, but you guys are being just as judgmental that you claim Christians are. Believe it or not, there are churches that aren’t filled with right-wing bigots. You just need to search them out. Christ was the revolutionary, breaking away from the vengeful God / old testament crap, and telling us to love our enemies, and there are some churches that follow that way of thinking. It’s just those right-wing, go-getter churches that are in the news.

James Daley

Then it’s your job to speak out and make people aware of this. Your silence isn’t helping or your just afraid to speak out against these people.

MiMg

The problem with your argument is that Republicans are OBSESSED with that THEY CHOOSE to believe are “gods wishes”, especially with regards to DISCRIMINATING again Gays, and STOPPING ALL women from EVER get ANY abortions. So when you get a group of people where SOCIAL ISSUES are ALL that matter to them, even though Democrats policies are MUCH better for them FINANCIALLY, they go with the party that CLAIMS to be the “most religious”

Estproph

Or, as we used to say when I was younger, they all want everyone to suck up to them.

DrMichael

I’ll agree with near all of that, but there is a reason for the second amendment. That 2% already have the power and the guns. The only way the poor will ever get a serious return to Democracy may be to rise up. While the Republican party has suffered “some loss” they are still a majority in both houses of many state legislatures and will surely have their go at both houses federally again before long. They are working for a stronger and stronger police slave state, and they are already dangerously close. Without the ability to arm and defend, we may find ourselves at the mercy of these true sociopaths.

MiMg

While I agree Repubs are AWFUL people and many probably ARE Sociopaths, NO argument is good enough to EXPAND Gun Rights. We have 400 MILLION GUNS in this country, WAY more than ALL of the countries of the planet COMBINED! It’s time for GUN CONTROL, NOT Gun Expansion!

vwcat12

In the 1960s many said the young kids coming up were suffering from selfishness. In the 1970s a movement about loving self was all the craze and it played right into the mood of those in their 20s and 30s.
In the 80s it was not just Greed is Good but, another mantra “What about me’
The main group these were directed to were the boomers. They came on with a set of beliefs that they were special and The world needed to bow to them and their demands.
And they were ripe for the Ayn Rand cult, the whole libertarian, worship of self and selfishness, money and looking down on the less fortunate as moochers.
The whole embrace by the republican party and their corporate masters would not have worked with any other generation. Certainly not the Greatest Generation or their grandparents, ect. It played right into the boomer generation’s thinking.
And before boomers make accusations at me: I am a boomer and I have observed this for my whole life.

pj

I am a boomer, I have classmates who are boomers and very few believe in what you are saying or condone it.

MiMg

Repubs are SCUM, we can AGREE on that =)

Mikeinthedirt

I like your Christ- I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.~ M Gandhi
Some confusion, I believe, arises from the ‘Old Testament’ being stuck in the front of the same book. The story goes, God set rules for people- they couldn’t keep it together, so he tried again, just ten rules this time- still fail. So he said, okay, new game, do it like this guy, that’s all you gotta do.
See, all the Old Testament stuff is OBSOLETE. Give it up, new play book, did I stutter?
Nobody is better than anybody. We are one family. That meat suit you wear for a while may look different but hey, it’s a meat suit. Just you pay attention to how you treat your brothers and sisters and let them pay attention to how they behave. None of your business.
Maybe I’ll start a Church of None Of Your Damn Business…
Socio/Psychopaths are adept at infiltrating and manipulating groups.

Cricket

Republicans/conservatives=sociopaths and Democrats/Liberals= socialists Both parties are beyond psychotic and allow labeled groups to make up their minds for them…… Reading this made Me sad for My country and proud to be an Independent. Furthermore being Christian means living like Christ, You know nothing about true Christianity and think that Westboro Baptist is a great example of all of us!

MiMg

Again, you CANT be “an independent”, 99% of the time, you have TWO choices, OBAMA or ROMNEY. ONE party is CLEARLY MUCH better than the OTHER! Repubs ONLY want TAX CUTS for THE RICH! Democrats believe in Social Security, Medicare, Unemployment, Food Stamps, College Grants, Medical Assistance, Family Medical Leave, COBRA, the A.C.A. (or EVEN BETTER – Single Payer or Public Option!), Disability, Unions, and EVERYTHING that HELPS the Poor and Middle Class!

65snake

Nailed it.

atalex

I remain convinced that if there was no tax deduction for tithing, Christianity would cease to exist as a political force overnight.

MiMg

there shouldn’t ANY money in POLITICS AT ALL! Then Democrats would win ALL the elections =)

GuinnessWoman

Thank you for such a well written article. I have always said the voting Republican is voting against yourself. The Republicans are conservative only for the rich. When you vote Republican you are allowing the rich who have all the power to change the rules. You will never get to the level they are at because they constantly change the rules. I have seen studies done with a simple game of Monopoly. They have two players in the game. One player is given double the money of the other player. The player with less money is only given $100 when they pass go. The player with more money is given $200 for passing go. As the game goes along the one with more money starts to change the rules of the game to their advantage. The same way that the rich in this country do to the rest of us. Haven’t you noticed how you now need to get a four year degree to move up in most companies. While those who are already at the top have educations that are 20-30 years old. The ones at the top are changing the rules for you, while they don’t change for them. How can we keep thinking that this is okay?

MiMg

EXACTLY! You see, Republicans are for ABOLISHING ANY program that HELPS the Poor and Middle Class: Unemployment, Social Security, Food Stamps, Medicare, Housing Assistance, Medical Assistance, College Grants, FMLA, Unions, YOU NAME IT! If it’s something that HELPS “the little guy” THEY are AGAINST it!

Tim Anderson

Vince Gill has a song “Threaten me with Heaven”…I’m an Atheist and I still like this song. If you’re a Christian and you REALLY believe in an afterlife and a soul and that the human body is just a temporary vessel for the soul…then what are you afraid of here on Earth? “Things” will all be left behind, and remember that “eye of the needle” and “camel” thing…Stan is essentially condemning himself to hell with his own belief system. But that’s why I hate religion, it excuses acts we do here. Whether it’s 72 virgins or WMD’s in Iraq, we wouldn’t be able to convince young men to give up their lives without the religion insurance plan…they would question their leaders first before going into a war. If everyone valued their bodies as fanatically as the religious value their souls; life wouldn’t be so easy to throw away.

wolfendenpackleader

The most dangerous thing to ALL living creatures on Earth is ORGANIZED RELIGION.

Kelli Hernandez

Sociopaths are real and they run our system. They are very easy to spot once you understand who and what they are. I educate about personality disorders and work with the survivors of sociopaths, narcissists and psychopaths. I have a blog about them. Each article that is written in an effort to enlighten others, is another step in creating a collective force in removing evil from politics. I’m sure we can’t entirely eradicate it, but I can tell you that there are some sociopaths, like Paul Ryan (Ayn Rand is his heroine and she was a brutal sociopath), and many, many others. They are attracted to power and control positions, and this is why the right is full of them.

They advocate and legislate laws for the removal of others rights.

They are callous, and they lack empathy. And they must go. We have to learn to understand that evil exists. The fact of it is hiding behind the mask of Christianity. Wolves in sheeps clothing. No, not all are good. Those who believe this, will be hurt by it because that’s all sociopaths want to do. They are addicted to not only power, but to the pain they cause others.

MiMg

Another WELL SAID statement, THANK YOU =) Even if we say they don’t have a “mental disorder” I agree, they are INTENTIONALLY and CALCULATEDLY Callous and CHOOSE to NOT be empathetic!

miserableoldfart

Good article, and true. Most of the right wing has completely left the reality based world behind them and actually believe the fake “scandals,” that man made global warming is a “fraud,” that FDR “prolonged the Great Depression,” that Dick Cheney is a good man.. You can’t argue with people who make stuff up as they go along, and then accuse you of being “uncivil” when you can’t take it any more..

JoeBS

Sociopathy is much more complicated that an ethos, even if that ethos is intolerably awful. It’s a clinical condition and likely has a strong genetic link. Overuse of the term in the article above ought to turn off a reasonably intelligent knowledgable person, because most of the people described are likely not clinical sociopaths. (Incidentally sociopaths are concerned with what others think of them, since fooling others into believing they are normal people is of high importance to their continued functioning in society – especially if they want to keep getting away with bad behavior.) What the author is describing is likely just indulgence in selfish behavior based upon a ready-made excuse handed to them by their so-called leaders. Selfishness, even in the extreme, is within the normal boundaries of human behavior, and selfish people looking for an excuse to be so, needn’t require sociopathy to be a reality. I call the people described – and most conservatives in general – immature, childish people. To paraphrase their own “good book,” they have not put away the childish selfishness that they learned somewhere between toddling and Jr. High School. Instead, they have embraced it and are looking to their leaders to tell them it’s okay to continue doing so.

MiMg

WELL SAID (though I STILL wish I could CALL them SOCIOPATHS because it sure feels as if they have NO heart and NO compassion for ANYONE but themselves, but I can live with calling them childish, immature, greedy, selfish bastards =)

qiuing

Left wing sophistry at its finest. This is why western politics can barely be taken seriously. You actually think feelings are a good thing when it comes to rational discourse.

Greed and competition in the name of greed is the very engine that drives civilization. Nothing of note has ever been done with feelings and “love”. Every single human achievement is the direct or indirect result of wealth and power accumulation by “greedy” people.

A person who doesn’t feel anything under any circumstance is a sociopath.
A person who doesn’t run his life based solely on emotions is a mature adult.

Learn the difference.

MiMg

YOU definitely ARE a SOCIOPATH YOURSELF! If we don’t ALLOW ourselves to FEEL what OTHERS are feeling, HOW can we make FAIR decisions? THAT is the problem with REPUBS! They are SO judgmental! Instead of feeling SORRY for a family who has just LOST a member of their family to SUICIDE, the REPUBS reaction is “he/she was WEAK, and the planet is BETTER OFF without them” Or when you see a HOMELESS person, instead of feeling BAD that they OBVIOUS don’t have ANYONE or ANYTHING in their life, you FORCE yourselves to feel NO COMPASSION for that person and do NOTHING but JUDGE them as “lazy, pathetic, useless, freeloaders” THAT is what is WRONG with YOUR party!

SoCal

Stereotyping and name calling – I’m sure those are the type of persuasive tactics that will get people to start following your political philosophy

MiMg

It’s NOT Stereotyping, MOST Republicans THINK and FEEL this way! They have it in their mind that they are BETTER than people who EARN less and HAVE less than they do!

Connie Bailey

Back in the Seventies, I read a book called “The Handmaid.” I thought it was total science-fiction, but as time goes on, it seems more like a prophecy being fulfilled.

A Critic

What about the sociopaths on the other side of the aisle? The ones who want to disarm us all so we are ready to be victims, the ones who want to rob us of all of our wealth and power so that they have it all?

Rule by sociopaths is social problem #1 – but it’s a bipartisan problem.

MiMg

Again, YOU REPUBS are PSYCHOS! NO ONE wants to take ALL of your PRECIOUS guns away from you, but you SHOULD have to be proven SANE before you are ALLOWED to have one! And you SHOULD have to PASS a BACKGROUND check BEFORE you are ALLOWED to take possession of the weapon! And you SHOULD have to INSURE that weapon in the even that it HURTS or KILLS someone, and YOU should be held RESPONSIBLE if you ALLOW your gun to HARM someone else!

A Critic

I’m no Republican.

Many people say all guns should be taken away from non-government goons. Many isn’t “NO ONE”.

USE your BRAIN (IF you have one!) Letting ANYONE get guns means LOTS of INNOCENT people will be KILLED, ya gun lovin jerk!

A Critic

I’m a bonafide genius so yes I do have a brain. I’m someone, thus am a subset of anyone, and I have many guns, yet there haven’t been LOTS of INNOCENT people KILLED. There are approximately 100 million other such examples just here in the USA…so how do you explain away the contradiction between your beliefs and reality?

MiMg

YES TENS of THOUSANDS of people DIE EVERY YEAR because PSYCHOS like YOU make it WAY too EASY for EVERYONE and ANYONE to get as MANY GUNS as they want, LOSER!

David Lucier

Used to be that “Greed was Good’…but, now, it’s LEGAL.

Vicki Trusselli

yes the the Kochs, Paul Ryan and the repug tea bags are sociopaths

Don Benfield

I cite the rise of the self esteem movement as being a direct correlation to why so many adhere to the aforementioned philosophy, the philosophy of sociopathy and Randism.

AGladiator

Let’s not forget that some of those sociopathic 2%ers are self-proclaimed progressives that support Democrats. ..

Teresa

What about the under employed who sabotage themselves? I know of a family who has had several Pell grants, but somehow they can never finish… They buy phones and computers with this money. One got excellent grades in computers and just never finished. So he doesn’t have the degree. I have nothing against helping someone who is trying and who wants to work. But, I KNOW people who basically act like kids on summer break. They do just enough to buy their cigarettes and beer. Or pot. They have been doing this for 10 years. Meanwhile, my taxes pay for it. I work and have worked the whole time. I make too much to get a Pell grant. I do think there should be a limit on Pell grants to stop this abuse of them.

MiMg

Did you READ the article AT ALL? You sound JUST like what the article is describing! Republicans LOVE to PASS JUDGMENT on OTHERS! LOVE others for WHO THEY ARE, NOT for who you THINK they “should” be. Being JEALOUS of OTHERS because YOU make TOO MUCH, is SO SELFISH of you!

maxiemom

This sounds just like a friend I’ve known all my life. He’s changed to the point where I don’t even recognize him any more, but when he started lecturing the daughter of his late best friend, someone I also knew from early childhood until he died, I lost most of my respect for him.

This last time he not only threw in her father, but her grandmother as well. I knew these people well, too, since they were also close family friends of my own family. We attended the same church and her grandmother doted on my son. This family was a family of DEMOCRATS! Yet he’s convinced himself that they would approve of HIS viewpoint, and even told her that she needed to go to church, which is funny because he has clearly forgotten most of what he learned there.

His wife is a right wing crazy, and I’ve wondered how much she has to do with this. His father was one of the best liked people in town well liked by everyone, black and white, and this guy grew up with black friends as well. He doesn’t even realize how racist many of his rants are……

Oh, and did I forget the diatribe about the ‘radical liberal extremists’ among his friends? Some of the things he’s said have been so hurtful and hateful to me and others that I’ve wondered if some pod person hasn’t taken him over…

Ceunei

Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

MiMg

I agree, that’s what Repubs are!

Talon Trevor MacDonald

As an Independent (not liking either side), I can say this is a VERY Biased and poorly written example of TOO SMALL a sample of a political sector. The Writer herein is, himself, too biased to consider as a factual writer by ANY means. Someone who is going to weigh the opinions of others must always be able to look Objectively, NOT Subjectively. This Article is simply written to pander to an already collected fan base.
Sorry Kids, While you are watching people stretching to feed you crap, the real stuff will slip by you. There are good and bad people on BOTH sides of the issues, Not JUST the Conservatives, and NOT just the Liberals.

MiMg

First of all, STOP LYING, there is NO SUCH THING as “independent” When you vote, you HAD to pick either OBAMA or ROMNEY, CLAIMING you don’t like EITHER party is BULL! I’ll help you, Here is how you determine WHAT you are: This is pretty simple. Are you for RAISING the Minimum Wage above 7$? If so you are Democrat if not, you are Republican! Are you OK with discrimination (up to and
including termination from employment, eviction from housing, etc) toward gays, blacks, Hispanics, overweight people, etc.? If yes, you are Republican! Do you
believe in EQUAL pay for women? If YES, you are Democrat if NO you are Republican! Are you for Voter Suppression? If YES, you are REPUBLICAN if NO, you are Democrat!
It’s VERY easy to translate Which you are with a few basic questions! Are you for CONSUMER rights or Business rights? If Consumer, you are DEM, if Business u r
Repub! R u for employ EE rights (DEM) or employ ER right (Repub)? its THAT black and white!

Veronica Allison

Every country has it’s Taliban by any other name

Veronica Allison

I think right wingers are afraid to not follow the ‘path’. Abortion wrong, guns right. The rest they really are not sure of…but those two things keep them to the right, to the right.

Valerie

This is not a debate on how many diagnosed sociopaths are in this country. This is a discussion on the double standards of a party that claims to be based on family values, Christian teachings, etc. This party then turns around and supports the end of any assistance program, telling women what can be done to their bodies regardless of whether the woman wants it, says that rape is not rape because women must have done something to perpetuate it, that defense spending only matters IF it benefits their community via jobs, that you have religious freedom IF you believe as they dictate. They thinks that the Constitution dictates that we are a Christian nation, that guns require no regulation because of the 2nd amendment, that abortion is wrong but in the next sentence will support the death penalty. I don’t know how you can be pro life and support the death penalty, but you can if you’re extreme right. Amazing how everything wrong in this country is the liberals fault but the laws they get mad about could have been changed when Bush was in office. Why didn’t that happen?? Maybe because Conservatives aren’t really conservative unless they think they will get votes by spewing Conservative “values”.

Sillama

Sociopaths are rare in the general population, but they do tend to cluster in clumps in the upper echelons of corporations and legislative bodies.

Ron

Wow, An argument around a straw man. You set up the scenario, create the characters, give them all the attributes you wish to expound upon, and then unleash what is obviously nothing more than your personal opinions and feelings. That was extremely intelligent on your part. Then again, I find that to be true with most progressives arguments. It’s also called fantasy-land.

But, I’d also like to know (in your make-believe world) who it is on the left that is so charitable and multi-cultural in their thinking? Is it the minorities you continually try to champion? Are they charitable, giving, and understanding of anyone that doesn’t look and believe the way they believe? Is it the academic elite that insulate themselves from the real world, but want to impose their will on the rest of us anyway? Is it the politicians that create draconian laws for the masses but exclude themselves from having to comply and obey them?

Conservatives are not as you like to describe them. You continually create caricatures of people and try to act like these are the “sociopaths” you fight against daily. Wrong. There’s always fringe people on both sides of the ideological divide…the left has as many and as extreme as those on the right. So, are you defined by your extreme elements? That’s what you always do to those on the right.

MiMg

As usual, WRONG! We are NOT talking about “fringe” ANYTHING! Repubs are not only AGAINST RAISING the Min Wage, but want to ABOLISH it ALTOGETHER! It’s not just that they want to “reduce” Food Stamps, they want to CANCEL the ENTIRE program! EVERY piece of legislation that HELPS people they are AGAINST and want to BAN and ABOLISH!

capricornbaker

Ah…didn’t really address or answer my questions, now did you?? If you want to maintain that the majority of republicans are like the fringe elements, then I can assume the same…the majority of liberals are like their fringe elements. But I’m sure you won’t see it that way. I’d like to hear you address my second paragraph and the questions I asked. And, conservatives do not want to cancel all programs that help people. I will say though, we have a different opinion about how to truly help people. Your ideas revolve more around enabling people and ours are about empowering people…but again, you won’t agree with that statement. Now…about my second paragraph….

MiMg

its YOU who didn’t answer MY questions! This is pretty simple. Are you for RAISING the Minimum Wage above 7$? If so you are Democrat if not, you are Republican! Are you OK with discrimination (up to and
including termination from employment, eviction from housing, etc) toward gays, blacks, Hispanics, overweight people, etc.? If yes, you are Republican! Do you
believe in EQUAL pay for women? If YES, you are Democrat if NO you are Republican! Are you for Voter Suppression? If YES, you are REPUBLICAN if NO, you are Democrat!
It’s VERY easy to translate Which you are with a few basic questions! Are you for CONSUMER rights or Business rights? If Consumer, you are DEM, if Business u r
Repub! R u for employ EE rights (DEM) or employ ER right (Repub)? its THAT black and white!

MiMg

its YOUR job to FOLLOW WHAT your Repubs politicians SAY and HOW they VOTE, and they have SAID PUBLICLY and VOTED PUBLICLY to DEFUND EVERY SAFETY NET PROGRAM, IDIOT!

Mark Giza Sr.

Stan sounds luciferian. To the “T”

EasyEight

Honestly? When I read this article the first thing that came to my mind was “Stan doesn’t exist, and there’s a good chance that Jake doesn’t either.” The author needed an extreme example and couldn’t find one, so he just created his friend and his friends “friend” to use to try to get his political points across. Much easier than actually engaging people of differing view points in a real discussion, yes?

MiMg

It’s NOT “differing viewpoints” with REPUBS, it’s CRAZINESS with THEM! For example, it’s not that they just want to REDUCE how many people are eligible for Food Stamps, they want to ABOLISH the program ENTIRELY! How do you “COMPROMISE” with THAT? Also, it’s not just that they DONT want to RAISE the Minimum Wage, it’s that they want to ABOLISH the Minimum Wage! It’s IMPOSSIBLE to find COMMON GROUND with such RADICAL people!

MIke Eldred

“See, Stan is exactly the kind of person Republicans want to create. A society of people who only worry about themselves.”

If this were true, I could have some respect Republicans. But they spend so much goddamn time worrying about what everyone else does, I can’t help but believe that the hypocrisy is quite intentional.

MiMg

wrong, This is pretty simple. Are you for RAISING the Minimum Wage above 7$? If so you are Democrat if not, you are Republican! Are you OK with discrimination (up to and
including termination from employment, eviction from housing, etc) toward gays, blacks, Hispanics, overweight people, etc.? If yes, you are Republican! Do you
believe in EQUAL pay for women? If YES, you are Democrat if NO you are Republican! Are you for Voter Suppression? If YES, you are REPUBLICAN if NO, you are Democrat!
It’s VERY easy to translate Which you are with a few basic questions! Are you for CONSUMER rights or Business rights? If Consumer, you are DEM, if Business u r
Repub! R u for employ EE rights (DEM) or employ ER right (Repub)? its THAT black and white!

Guest

Great writing. Terrible but true message.

Ron

Wow again, gbakere…that’s exactly how I feel about Democrats. That’s all dems seem to be worried about too…creating the society they want, and trying to enforce it on all of us through the federal government. The list of laws and executive orders that are from the left is too lengthy to get into on this thread, but it is extensive. Many of them are all about “forcing” people to live, act, talk, and behave in what many call a politically correct lifestyle….whether they want to or not. We hear in the media about racists, “war” on women, etc. and yet those are defined by the left and hurled at the right. It’s all about worrying what everyone else does and how they think. I personally think there is far more racism and sexism and warfare being perpetrated from the left than ever from the right. All depends on how you want to phrase and look at the issues.

MiMg

WOW, do YOU have EVERYTHING BACKWARDS or WHAT?! It’s REPUBLICANS who want to CREATE SOCIETY THEIR way! They want NO gays NO blacks NO Hispanics NO poor NO middle class NO Asians NO Social Security NO Unemployment NO Disability NO Family Medical Leave NO Food Stamps NO Housing Assistance NO College Loans NO HELP for ANYONE!

satin8876

This is an excellent description of the American “Me” mentality. This morning I read a story about a family that was going to court because their neighbor, with all necessary approvals, built a handicap ramp to their front door for their handicapped daughter. The family was worried the ramp would affect their property values.

Holli

WOW – Mr Clifton – I’m an Independent. And, I’m a soldier. After reading this article I will say this – the way your proposing ALL republicans act and believe is exactly the way they view the left. Therefore, until we stop name calling and accusing the other side of being self centered and un-American, this country will never get anywhere. Not all of one group is one way. If that were the case – every group would be in trouble. Then again, as a Christian, I live my life by GOD’s commandments, not by what a politician tells me is right. I’m glad your friend does his own research and finds his views in line with yours. Now, instead of trash talking about his friend, maybe you could try to explain to him how he’s wrong, on a human level. It’s easy to place blame without stating a way to solve the problem.

MiMg

How many times do I have to SAY THIS: You are NOT an “independent” You either HAD to vote for OBAMA or ROMNEY! MOST “indepedents” are REPUBLICANS! There is a HUGE difference between Democrats and Republicans, HERE are just a FEW of those MAJOR differences: This is pretty simple. Are you for RAISING the Minimum Wage above 7$? If so you are Democrat if not, you are Republican! Are you OK with discrimination (up to and
including termination from employment, eviction from housing, etc) toward gays, blacks, Hispanics, overweight people, etc.? If yes, you are Republican! Do you
believe in EQUAL pay for women? If YES, you are Democrat if NO you are Republican! Are you for Voter Suppression? If YES, you are REPUBLICAN if NO, you are Democrat!
It’s VERY easy to translate Which you are with a few basic questions! Are you for CONSUMER rights or Business rights? If Consumer, you are DEM, if Business u r
Repub! R u for employ EE rights (DEM) or employ ER right (Repub)? its THAT black and white!

Dr_MJ

these folks has been reading the libertarian version of Randian Philosophy. they quote her but leave out the part where she said Christian’s had a psychological defect because they promoted altruism…I secretly laugh at libertarians who say they they are Christian’s and think Ayn Rand is their political hero… They are either liars or have not really read her theories. Or as Ayn Rand said herself she was disgusted by libertarians because they plagiarized her ideas and then use them as propaganda to recruit Christians, by watering them down. (I am not promoting her ideas, just found it funny that even she thought these guys were dangerous)

Mike Rubin

It took me a long time to come to grips with this, because it goes against everything I was taught, but, at some point, you no longer are having a difference of opinion with dead-souled, compassionless, narcissistic, self-absorbed, “I got mine,” “not my brother’s keeper,” anti-social-compact, cheapfizzuck, objectivist conservatives; rather, you simply are dealing with bad persons. Understanding this is liberating.

MiMg

VERY WELL SAID!

Jerry Hill

i AM SO THANKFUL THAT YOU CAN CALL HIM “FRIEND”. HE REALLY NEEDS ONE AND I’M AFRAID THAT MANY OF US COULD NOT ASSOCIATE WITH HIM.

louis

republicans are enemies of the state. traitors of the constitution. most should be on trial for crimes against humanity.

eton

We are reaping the harvest of the GMFU generation from the 80s (GMFU = Got Mine, F*ck U). A whole generation of privileged sociopaths. Not pretty, and curiously it doesn’t necessarily break along race lines. See Wall Street hedge fund managers (not all, but some), many Republican legislators, and some rap artists who could care less about others or their communities. Like I said, not pretty, and getting worse because 2010 elections across the country allowed it to mainstream.

Rev. Janell Smith

I just spent 13 hours driving to Dallas. Once I reached the red state talk radio stations, I could not believe the disgusting trash I heard over the air-waves about Planned Parenthood, Obamacare. liberal agenda, and so on. I heard so many lies, distortions and bitter language that I had to change the station. I can only imagine that living in that type of environment that most decent and intelligent people would do the same thing—turn them off and just ignore the sociopaths.

MiMg

The question is, did changing the station HELP? I question whether you can even FIND a station that is even MODERATE in a Red State!

Matt West

Having intimately known several people who fit every characteristic described in this article, I too have come to the conclusion that many Americans identifying as “conservative” are only subscribing to a political viewpoint that fits their sociopathic and narcissistic tendencies.

Lusus Naturae

Saying you are a christian because you go to church is like saying you are a car because you are standing in the garage.

MiMg

WELL SAID! Some pretty CRUMMY people label themselves “Christian”! MANY of which are Repubs!

this is no surprise. And truly I cannot believe that I worked for the lesser of two evils for president. As all these rich who “control” the politicians, they all have this artificial belief that going to church means they are “christ like.” Problem; Jesus was Jewish, he did not gather the rich, but the outcasts of society. Isn’t there a saying about a richman having a harder time getting through an eye of a needle? Basically, good luck. It is really terrible that we don’t care about the poor, the disabled or sick, or medical care, food, which this country wastes much of. One day, it will backfire, and I wonder, where shall they end up?

d.larae

Mihla, I’m in Farmers Branch and we rent. Each month, religious crap in our receipts. But one takes the cake, “Vote
republican, it is the right to do, and remember, each child aborted God holds you responsible.” NO JOKE. I never see her door open to feed the poor, house the homeless, but loves that big Cadillac she drives! If you want to impress me, then act like the person you idolize, otherwise, you’re just another hypocrite running a muck in one screwed up state! Yeah, those five clinics, interesting to note, Perry’s sister will benefit. We shall go back to the times when it was illegal, and many women “fell” after a back door butcher or that coat hanger. It’s amazing to me that people have no damn clue what so ever. You want to be nice to them? Ask how often they feed the hungry, watch children who’s parents work 2 or 3 jobs, or how many they allow to bring in their home to sleep in a house and not under a bridge? yeah, see how they respond to that?

NOLA_exile

Merriam-Webster’s Learner’s Dictionary defines the word “sociopath” as “someone who behaves in a dangerous or violent way towards other people and does not feel guilty about such behavior.” So according to this author, people are “sociopaths” for working for a living & resenting their earnings being forcibly taken away to go to bureaucrats who then hand over that money to others who are too arrogant, irresponsible or lazy to support themselves? Therefore, taxpayers who are angry about Joker Tsarnaev & the rest of his anti-American family receiving welfare checks, food stamps & other payments are “sociopaths”? So the taxpayers protesting theft disguised as “income-redistribution” exude the level of evil as those who actually engaged in terrorism such as Joker Tsarnaev? This writer is employing a typical tactic of his leftist ilk: bastardize the language in order to advance the nanny-statist agenda.

Here’s the Conservative Christian Drill: God is just. God is all-powerful. If he felt you deserved to be rich, he would make you rich. If you’re not rich, it’s because He thinks you’re unworthy. Now He might put some obstacles in your path on your way to a Humvee, but ultimately He’ll see that justice is done. Don’t trouble yourself about the poor, that’s God’s job. After all, “The poor will be with us always.” The job of a Good Christian is to manifest His glory by getting as much wealth as He allows you to get; if some poor single mom is struggling with her 4 children, that’s God teaching her a lesson about fornicating and living an upright life. She may pull out of it, she may not, but that’s God working through circumstances to prove a point. You don’t want to intervene in one of God’s lessons. Self interest is God’s unerring voice whispering in your ear to prosper and make Him look good.

SF liberal

I think that’s why abortion rankles Conservative Christians so much. Pregnancy is God’s way of telling apple-pimping women to not have sex until they want a kid, and these liberals are intervening in the Divine Chain of Causation and Retribution.

FredC1968

The is the offspring of Ayn Rand and Jerry Falwell.

GeeGee

Who made you God?
Teach a man to fish.
Progressives believe in ‘group’ think (give a man a fish, everyone’s a victim) – when in reality .. it is all about control.

yup- it is the employees fault for being so stupid as to end up working for the likes of them

Sam Brosenberg

“You’re a lot like your father. You really are, Peter, and that’s a good thing. But your father lived by a philosophy, a principle really. He believed that…that if you could do good things for other people, you had a moral obligation to do those things. That’s what at stake here. Not a choice, responsibility.”

-Ben Parker

BryanCooper

While the right wing’s lack of tack is beyond question, to call oneself a ‘progressive’ and then try to assign deep mental illness labels to another is more than a little disconcerting. You’ve put your friend Jake in a difficult position because you have not reached out to Stan yourself. Its easier to label Stan a sociopath than to call him out for a beer. and then visit his church with him to show you don’t get struck down by a lightening bolt.
Most people’s political beliefs are but a reflection of their deep inner personal culture. Many of Stan’s political issues that he consciously verbalizes relate to a deep cultural divide. If fear is used to exacerbate that divide, nothing good will come of it.
We ask for understanding and respect from the right. We can’t continue using divisive tactics at a political and especially personal level. You should instead try to show Stan that the lefty culture isn’t some big scary monster out to make him a pot smoking hippie. Although that pot will help his grandma through chemo.
In fact, the 3 of you could be friends together – Odd Lot?
Gays have made some social AND political progress recently by becoming more open within society and as more and more people realize that, in general, they are pretty nice folks. They had to battle a LOT of harassment and worse – and will continue to do so. Check out the gay Mayor of Vicco, Ky who show how that tiny outpost adapted to HIS differences and then selected him as their own (gay) leader. Clearly these changes of acceptance take time and effort – from both sides.
I assure you – it doesn’t mean you won’t still argue about Obamacare. But at least you’ll be arguing in the same room.

waltinseattle

if god did not make them sociopaths, their upbringing most likly beat it into them with that rod of which they must not spare the child. beat them good, break that will. its good at 2 months and its good at 18 years of age. “a little blood and bruising is normal” as they are reasured in one manual for the salvation of the children. do a websearch for “independent fundamentalist baptist cult” and for “Dominionism” to see what lurks under the protection of religious freeom. and tax exempt to! if you care to, then expand to the political inroads and be alarmed…very alarmed

John

Conservatives are crazy people. Why would anyone want the government to live within it’s means and only spend what they actually receive in revenue? I mean, no one does that in their own household. Why would the government do it? Why would anyone want people to be a little more responsible for their own behind rather then be dependent on the government to take care of them. I just don’t get these conservatives. I mean why would anyone want the government to adhere to the constitution and leave us the hell alone so we can be free to start a business, make this country prosper and create jobs for those that actually want to work. I don’t understand why anyone would try to stop our beloved government from creating more entitlement programs that are going to put the final nail on the bankruptcy coffin of our country and push it right over the financial cliff. Never to be seen again. I just don’t understand why anyone would want to stop that.

saikaku

Troll alert…..

kenstrolle

GREEDY Sociopaths and the big corporations are fooling 40% of the American People! That just refuse to know the truth! The other 10% are the rich! But the 40% will win to fu*k them selfs and there Familys in to becoming Cheap Laborers for the big corporations that OWN the t/gop!!

Tom W.

While some of the views described may hold true for some, it ends up being a stock partisan caricature of the other side (just like they do). Ranting about the Koch brothers? Sounds like a broken record. And a picture of Paul Ryan? He’s one of the biggest big-government Republicans they’ve got, his rhetoric to the contrary.

Mac

Nothing like a multi-paragraph straw man article written by a Polysci major to get the bowels moving in the morning.

left

this is the biggest bunch of stereotypical hogwash I have ever read…..grouping any political party into one lump mindset is as stupid as saying all 5 year olds are alike, selfish, greedy, tantrum throwing, lieing little monsters…..Grow up people and teach your children to have an open mind and that no one is either bad or good. We are all a little of both because we are humans, and flawed at best by our life’s experiences. When you categorize any group into one mindset, you categorize yourself also as a follower of stereotypical doctrine of someone else’s beliefs. Open you minds and your hearts and stop spewing epithets and using name calling….I thought “Progressives” were supposed to be the tolerant, understanding, open minded people who were ALL accepting of everyone…………like I said, HOGWASH!

Sean Gonzalez

Why you still think one who is accepting cannot call themselves such when they don’t accept regressive, punishing, childish behavior. That is not something for tolerance, that is something you teach a person NOT to be. YOU don’t welcome that into your home and call it OK.

And it’s not name calling to state the truth.

imaki

This is the libertarian element in conservatism. Ayn Rand is not a legitimate philosopher, but her objectivist views first espoused this idea that one is not morally bound to anyone else. Robert Nozick in “Anarchy, State, and Utopia” tried to demonstrate (analytically) that self-ownership (much like self-interest) does not lead to any kind of moral quandary, since all people are “willingly” engaged in their roles within society (because we all have the same formal freedoms under the law), and thus if someone is willing to work at a subsistence wage, there is nothing morally wrong with it occurring.

These ideas display elements of what you would call a sociopath, because they isolate the individual to the extent that society at large doesn’t matter. What both of them tend to forget is that cooperation and mutual reciprocity is required at all times, on some levels, but especially so in the historical development of civilizations. Exploitation always comes later.

feathertail

Suits Grand County Colorado to a T

Jake Witmer

Virtually all statists (state collectivists) are either sociopaths or willing to allow themselves to be manipulated by them in exchange for being insulated from the violence they endorse.

stevelittle

This kind of makes sense considering that Ted Bundy had no problem luring girls into his car. Jeffrey Dahmer had no problem luring guys into his apartment. The Republicans are luring the middle class and lower classes into their party, and a garrote or knife or drill is waiting….

Marty Cox

This voices my own thoughts completely…those screaming Christianity the loudest are the “haters”…how paradoxical is this?

Just want to say that this article sums up just about exactly how I feel and what I believe. And it scares the crap out of me. I think of it as a disease that is slowly destroying the heart of America. The people who suffer from this disease are in serious denial and to make their behavior more acceptable they bully anyone they can. They are the original namecallers and fingerpointers and they are experts at the art of misdirection and overtalking.

miketothad

Excellent article.

Bill Davis

God help the USA–the frigging lunatics are taking over the asylum!

Literacy Advocate

I agree with your politics, but am disgusted at your iliiteracy, so rampant with today’s young ‘journalists’. Why dont you LOOK UP THE WORD ‘REMORSE’, for God’s sake. (“He has no remorse for others, seems to live in a world where he’s the focal point but he presents himself as extremely..”)

Literacy Advocate

Illiteracy sorry. i typo. unlike your use of ‘remorse’

Filipe

I agree partially. It’s not egotism that’s bad, it’s individualism. We should be egotistical, but in normal people that means helping yourself AND others, and also helping yourself THROUGH helping others. On the other hand it’s completely true the 98% should unite politically and demand a more equal distribution of wealth. It will not just come to us for free.

Jessica Britt

my sense is the authoritative model of child-rearing – the parent on top the child on the bottom, creates more sociopathic children/adults, unkindness breeds unkindness – at the heart of the sociopath – they do not want to be controlled ever again – and will do anything to not be touched – or manipulated, they become the manipulators – the controllers – the one on top – the Authoritative model avoids compassion at all costs – as a weakens – the new Pope is driving them crazy –

Barbara Harrison

Once again Allen Clifton nails it!!

Roger Schramm

This hits the nail right on the head !!

Guest

If we’d fought with Germany in WWII and had won as a team the world would ne a far better place today. No Jews, no race-mixing, inferior non-Whites would be our slaves as God intended and His Aryan master race would be ruling the world. Thand God for the Tea Party so we can complete the dream of the great Adolf Hitler!

White True Patriot

If we’d fought with Germany in WWII and had won as a team the world would be a far better place today. No Jews, no race-mixing, inferior non-Whites would be our slaves as God intended and His Aryan master race would be ruling the world. Thand God for the Tea Party so we can complete the dream of the great Adolf Hitler!

David

It’s going to be a challenge to find anything as ridiculous as this hatefully stupid “essay” this year.

Mick

The most intensely churchy people I know have no innate moral compass, and struck upon the church as we got older, to supply one. I would definitely describe them as sociopaths. They were the guys who did the really foolish, dangerous shit when we were younger, with no regard for otters. One used to hit golf balls off the roof of his apartment in the city (really.)

Then they all turned all churchy and preachy. The guys who were the psychos.

add in the fact that the lowliest white man still considers himself better than any “nigger” and you’d sum it up perfectly. (Yes, I used that word…..I used THAT word, because I’m seeing it more and more in comment threads, by people that would never use it in polite conversation, but somehow on Twitter and Facebook, it’s “okay” to use???? It disgusts me that they seem to think it’s okay.) Racism is thriving on the internet. 🙁

Vince Gotti

Wrong. You stereotype all “republicans” as being “greedy”. There are just as many if not more “greedy” democrats as republicans. Your piece is a farce.
The whole liberal agenda is based on greed. And there are shi*tloads of sociopathic “progressives”. Do you even know what sociopathic really means?
Clue; look in the mirror.

Jacques Maritain, the Catholic philosopher, described people such as “Stan” as “practical atheists.” (See “The Meaning of Contemporary Atheism” in the book The Range of Reason by Jacques Maritain.) Such persons are members of a religious body for selfish reasons – networking, image, etc. – but act as if there is no God to whom they must account for their lives. A typical example would be a person who calls himself a Catholic, but who idolizes Ayn Rand (a positive atheist in Maritain’s terms) and is an adherent of a philosophy of Objectivism, which holds that the unyielding attainment and realization of an individual’s personal vision is the highest and sole good. Objectivism is intrinsically an atheistic philosophy because it makes one’s self the arbiter of what is good. Paul Ryan is, in fact, an atheist.

Haley Thunderrider

I wrote my doctorate on the study of empathy and have been studying it ever since. All sociopaths lack empathy, but not all people who lack empathy are sociopaths. Low empathy is caused by damage, malnutrition, long-term exposure to certain chemicals, or is naturally occurring in the frontal lobe of the brain. Low empathy, therefore, cannot be taught, but it can be made worse by constant fear/hate scenarios from TV and radio that are largely propaganda. A sociopathy is an extreme form of low-empathy, and usually brought about by poor parenting or trauma. Non-empathic people used to be about 30% of the population. Due to many social changes as well as the huge amount of toxins in our foods and water, that percentage has risen to about 70%. Low empathy children crave bonding with others and their parents must meet that need and not send them off with a video game. They also need non-violent but consistent consequences for their actions. They need to be taught right from wrong, whereas empathic children inherently understand moral behavior. If we want our nation to return to decency again, we have to turn off Fox News and radical radio and turn to each other with love and respect. And if you’re a Christian like me, you’ll follow only the actions and teachings of Jesus, not some hate-filled pastor that tells you it’s ok to hate immigrants, minorities, women, gays and on and on. Low empathy children can be very generous, so encourage their giving by role-modeling for them. Love really is the answer for the low empathy child and prevents the occurrence of sociopathy.

Dirk Sedona

I call what he describes as “Moreism”. People who have more in blind pursuit of even more.

Amrit Pal

It all comes down to brain and bravery.A brave person with brain will look for the truth while sheep follow.Religion is a tool to find sheep,liberal views are not taught but learned by our own bravery and intelligence,our dissatisfaction with inequality,greed,etc while conservative “views” are taught to people incapable of understanding truth.

Fascinating article. Broad brushing all conservatives or Republicans is not reasonable, but there are certainly more sociopaths in our society than one would think. The new book, THE SETUP exposes some of these: a private investigator who happily set people up for arrest, sold drugs stolen out of police evidence all while pitching himself to Lifetime TV for a reality show. There’s also an actor on a hit cable TV show who has been claiming to be a wounded Army veteran with two Purple Hearts and a Silver Star, claiming to be a retired police officer/detective, and claiming to be a 9/11 first responder—none of which are true. It’s very much a story of sociopaths and how our celebrity obsessed culture is magnetic to these dishonest criminals: http://www.amazon.com/Setup-Story-Dirty-Soccer-Reality/dp/1940363314/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1415686797&sr=8-1&keywords=the+setup+pete+crooks

The key point in the post was “greed” to me. Sociopathic beliefs of the Conservatives all stem from that one dealy sin. It drives themsobthey use religion, race, policies or any and everything they can to try and brainwash or hold back all people with a bombardment of stupid sayings and ideas. Unfortunately, they get supported by folk thinking that if we act like that, we will get what they got.